The authors say many states have structural deficits because they have failed to modernize their revenue systems; they suggest steps that states can take to shore up their tax systems. Those steps include taxing services and requiring combined reporting, the authors says

The author writes that total estate taxes will decline for all estates, whether the person leaving the estate lived in a state that has retained an estate tax or not. Also, the amount of state estate tax owed by estates that are large enough to be taxable is less than it might appear based on...

The authors point out that state tax systems have become more regressive in the past decade. Taxes in many states have become relatively more burdensome to low- and moderate-income families and relatively less burdensome on the affluent than they were before the last recession, the authors say....