废除遗产税？不，保留它以助贫困者
支持废除遗产税的人说，这项立法能保住家庭农场和企业，并解除一个可怕而不公平的负担。我碰巧有足够的运气，能享受这项立法带来的税收优惠，所以我希望自己能说服自己相信支持者的说辞。可惜，事实并非如此。
Supporters of repealing the estate tax say the legislation would save family farms and businesses and lift a terrible and unfair burden. I happen to be fortunate enough to be eligible for the tax benefits of this legislation, and so I wish I could convince myself to believe the proponents’ rhetoric. Unfortunately, it just isn’t so.
事实上，废除遗产税将为最富有的 2% 美国人带来一笔巨额的税收横财。对于继承价值超过 1000 万美元遗产的纳税人，平均每人将获得超过 700 万美元的减税。而对其他公众来说，这不过是一个残酷的骗局。对于继承价值在每对夫妇 135 万美元或以下遗产的继承人——这占了绝大多数遗产——他们得到的减税正好是零。这些人本来就已经被免除了联邦遗产税。
The truth is that repealing the estate tax would give a huge tax windfall to the wealthiest 2% of Americans. It would provide an average tax cut of more than $7 million to taxpayers who inherit estates worth more than $10 million. For the rest of the public, it is a cruel hoax. Heirs of estates valued at $1.35 million or less per couple—the vast majority of estates—would get a tax cut of exactly zero. They are already exempt from the federal estate tax.
遗产税或许是《国内税收法典》中效率最高的税种。其他税种会扭曲消费者、劳动者和企业做出的经济决策。消费税会改变消费者对某类商品的购买量，所得税或工资税则会影响人们选择的工作时长。相比之下，遗产税对日常商业交易毫无影响，也不会抑制财富创造者的积极性。恰恰相反，它反而可能激励继承者过上富有成效的生活。
The estate tax is perhaps the most efficient tax in the Internal Revenue Code. Other taxes can distort economic decisions that consumers, workers and businesses make. An excise tax can change the amount of a good that a consumer will purchase. An income or payroll tax can affect the number of hours someone chooses to work. In contrast, the estate tax has no effect on daily business transactions and does not inhibit the creators of wealth. On the contrary, it may encourage their heirs to lead productive lives.
或许支持废除遗产税的唯一有力论据是，它占联邦税收总额的比例不到 1%。这是因为有太多合法途径可以规避它。我跟任何人一样不喜欢交税。我正在通过慈善信托将大部分财富用于慈善事业，这些信托不会被计入我的遗产而征税。如果我声称这一考虑与我的决定毫无关系，那就是在说谎。
Perhaps the only potent argument in favor of abolishing the estate tax is that it accounts for less than 1% of all federal taxes collected. That is because there are so many legal ways to avoid it. I do not like paying taxes any more than the next fellow. I am devoting a large part of my wealth to philanthropy using charitable trusts that will not be taxed as part of my estate. I would be dishonest if I claimed that this consideration had nothing to do with my decision.
1997 年，慈善信托持有的资金超过 600 亿美元。同年，应税遗产报告的慈善捐赠超过 70 亿美元。废除遗产税会消除慈善捐赠的主要推动力之一。大学校长以及文化和慈善机构的负责人应该全力游说反对这项法案。毫不夸张地说，《2000 年死亡税废除法案》会严重削弱我们的社会结构。
In 1997 more than $60 billion was held in charitable trusts. That same year, taxable estates reported more than $7 billion in charitable donations. Abolishing the estate tax would remove one of the main incentives for charitable giving. College presidents and directors of cultural and charitable organizations ought to be out in force lobbying against it. It is no exaggeration to say that the Death Tax Elimination Act of 2000 would seriously fray our social fabric.
虽然整个国家在变富，但贫富差距在拉大。教育、医疗、城市贫民区、数字鸿沟、毒品滥用以及禁毒战争本身的滥用——这些国家真正的问题我们都心知肚明。共和党领导层把废除遗产税当作首要任务，实在让人想不通他们的脑袋里在想什么。
While the country as a whole is getting richer, the gap between the rich and poor is getting wider. Education, health care, the inner city, the digital divide, drug abuse and the abuse of the fight against drug abuse—we are all familiar with the nation’s real problems. One has to wonder about the mindset of the Republican leadership when they give priority to the repeal of the estate tax.
所以我要对国会中的共和党领袖们说：承蒙你们想着我——但这好意我心领了。请把遗产税保留下来，把那些税收用在该用的地方：不是去改善那些已经实现美国梦的人的生活，而是去改善那些仍在追寻美国梦的人们的生活。
So I say to the Republican leaders in Congress, thanks for thinking of me—but no thanks. Please keep the estate tax in place and use the proceeds where it will really count: to better the lives not of people who have already realized the American dream, but of people still seeking to achieve it.