A recent paper by Brunetti (2006) examines whether the US estate tax forces heirs with insufficient liquid assets to sell inherited businesses in order to pay the estate tax. It concludes that the estate tax has a positive effect on such sales. This note highlights features of the estate tax and...

Executors of estates for decedents in 2010 could choose between an estate tax regime and a basis carry-over regime. For most executors, this created a tradeoff between a current estate tax payment and a future capital gains tax liability for beneficiaries who inherited assets with...

In 2010, the U.S. estate tax expired and executors of wealthy decedents were not required to file estate tax returns. In the absence of the estate tax, beneficiaries received assets with carryover rather than stepped-up basis. Unrealized capital gains accounted for 44 percent of the fair market...