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For much of the last century, estate and inheritance taxes have played an important role in helping states to adequately fund public services in a way that exempts middle- and low-income taxpayers. This is an especially vital role at the state level because most of the taxes levied by state and local governments fall most heavily on low-income families. Recent changes in federal estate tax laws give states an opportunity to re-examine the design of their own estate and inheritance taxes.
Read more about options for making state tax structures more fair though estate and inheritance taxes in the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy‘s updated policy brief.