political debate over the estate tax in the United States, which reduces inequality by taxing the estate of large quantities of wealth. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 doubled the exemption of estates by increasing the exemption from $5.49 million in 2017 to $11.18 million in 2018. This increase in estate exemption was estimated to affect about 3,200 estates in 2018. A 2021 investigation using leaked IRS documents found more than half of the richest 100 Americans use grantor retained annuity trusts to avoid paying estate taxes when they die. As of 2022 individual estates under $12.06 million, and $24.12 million for married couples, are exempt from federal tax. Estates with values beyond $12.06 million are taxed on a sliding scale from 18% to 40%. The lowest bracket of 18% affects estates from $12.06 to $12.07 million and quickly increases to 40% affecting estates $13.06 million and above. The doubled exemption from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is scheduled to expire in 2025, reducing the estate exemption to approximately $6.2 million. In addition, the maximum gift tax is scheduled to increase from 40% to 45% in 2026. Increased tax In President Joe Biden's proposed budget for 2023 there are two proposed tax changes for households with wealth above $100 million. First, is a new "minimum tax" at death for unrealized capital gains above $1 million. Second is to realized capital gains as ordinary income; which is expected to effectively raise the percent of capital taxed from 23.8% to 43.4%. Combined it is estimated that these tax changes will place these households at an effective tax rate of 61.1%, which is nearly double the effective tax rate in 2022. Inheritance tax As of 2022, there is no federal inheritance tax in the United States, which occurs after an estate is taxed and is passed on to surviving individual(s) and/or organization. As of 2022, six states (Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) impose a state level inheritance tax. Taxation of wealth Senator Bernie Sanders pitched the idea of a wealth tax in the US in 2014. Later, Senator Elizabeth Warren proposed an annual tax on wealth in January 2019, specifically a 2% tax for wealth over $50 million and another 1% surcharge on wealth over $1 billion. Wealth is defined as including all asset classes, including financial assets and real estate. Economists Emmanuel Saez and