Abstract
Taxes on property left by individuals to their heirs are among the oldest forms of taxation. In societies in which property is privately owned, the state protects the property rights of the individual and supervises the transfer from one generation to the next. Consequently, the state has always regarded property transfers as appropriate objects of taxation. However, taxes on bequests and gifts raise very little revenue in modern tax systems.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, 1st edition, 1987. Edited by John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman
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Pechman, J.A. (1987). Inheritance Taxes. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_980-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_980-1
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5
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