Minnesota Insurance Enrollment Broke State Record

More Minnesotans can claim health insurance than ever before. Unlike many of its neighbors, the state has leaned into the Affordable Care Act, and reaped rewards—only 4% of Minnesotans lack insurance for 2018. MNSure recently announced that the 2017 open enrollment...

Long Live the Death Tax!

Conservatives hate the estate tax, which falls primarily on a tiny sliver of the very wealthiest households. However, criticisms of the estate tax do not hold up well under close scrutiny. We examined the criticism that the estate tax constitutes “double taxation” in...

Is the Estate Tax Really “Double Taxation?”

Estate taxes reduce wealth inequality by taxing a portion of huge intergenerational wealth transfers, as noted in the previous installment in this series. Nonetheless, conservatives consistently call for reductions to or elimination of this tax, partly on the grounds...

Estate Taxes in the Age of Inequality

Income and wealth inequality has accelerated in recent decades; at the same time, reliance on the progressive estate tax as a state revenue source has waned. Certainly, the decline of the estate tax is not the only—or even a primary—cause for the increase in...