Data Underlying APSR Article, and Now NY Times Op-Ed, on Estate Tax at ISPS

Ken Scheve (former ISPS affiliate, now at Stanford) & David Stasavage (NYU) published an op-ed in the New York Times titled, ‘Is the Estate Tax Doomed?’ It is based on their 2012 article in the American Political Science Review, “Democracy, War, and Wealth: Evidence from Two Centuries of Inheritance Taxation.”

Data underlying the article are openly accessible at the ISPS Data Archive.

From the New York Times:

With income inequality at levels not seen since the 1920s, and low economic mobility, some liberals hope that in the coming years our lawmakers will face intense political pressures to maintain, and even raise, taxes on inherited wealth. In this view, economic realities are building a compelling case for a more progressive tax system.

But judging from the experience of other wealthy countries, the opposite may be true. As inequality has risen in the developed world, many governments have been dismantling — not increasing — estate taxes. Countries from Austria to Canada to Sweden have abolished estate taxes outright.