Reforming Estate Tax Would Pave Way for Equitable Tax Landscape

A win by Charles and Kathleen Moore in their fight against the US government on income realization would call into question numerous elements of the tax code and likely would bar any future wealth tax.

But while the outcome of Moore v. United States may have significant implications for the federal tax code, pursuit of a wealth tax in this legal and political landscape is fraught with challenges. In contrast, reforming the estate tax offers a more feasible approach to tackling wealth inequality—albeit a much less headline-grabbing one—and isn’t threatened by Moore.

The estate tax should be leveraged to ...