Public Opinion and the Push toRepeal the Estate Tax

Mayling Birney, Michael J. Graetz and Ian Shapiro

National Tax Journal, 2006, vol. 59, issue 3, 439-61

Abstract: We examine the recent battle for federal estate tax repeal in order better to understand the role of public opinion in enacting legislation, particularly regarding low salience issues. Our analyses of the polling data show how the contours of public opinion were strategically used in the policy debate. When the issue was framed as a matter of fairness, misperceptions of self–interest and principled beliefs about fairness combined to yield apparently overwhelming support for repeal. However, when it was instead framed as a matter of priority, majorities supported estate tax reform options over repeal. Interest groups used the findings about public opinion in coalition–building and campaigns that changed the public image of repeal from extreme to mainstream. In sum, public opinion polls supporting repeal provided "running room" for politicians to vote for repeal.

Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ntj:journl:v:59:y:2006:i:3:p:439-61

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