Following an acrimonious debate regarding estate taxes over the past several years, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 reforms and cuts estate taxes through 2009, abolishes the tax in 2010, and then reinstates it in 2011. These changes make the taxation of transfers...

This paper examines the effects of estate tax repeal on charitable giving. Using data from a variety of sources, we conclude that outright repeal would reduce giving at death by about $5 billion per year, and giving during life by a similar amount. The resulting decline in giving, $10 billion...