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estate tax

estate tax

29 4.8
A tax on someone's money and property when they die before their family gets it
  • noun
  • /ɪˈsteɪt tæks/
  • Specialized
translation icon : impuesto sobre el patrimonio
  • In some countries, the estate tax is calculated based on the total value of the deceased's assets.
  • estate tax exemption
  • estate tax exemption amount

And sometimes you might hear of the the death tax or the estate tax.

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Examples

  • We are going to protect thousands of family businesses by ending the crushing, horrible and unfair estate tax, sometimes known as the death tax.

  • New York, for example, has a state estate tax exemption of $1 million; in New Jersey, the exemption is only $675,000.

    Academic text (2004)
  • This is why the estate tax is called the death tax.

  • For example, we talked earlier about the estate tax in in the US.

  • The first thing that should happen is that there should be a 100% estate tax.

    Blog text (10)
  • I hear the same question raised about the estate tax, and it doesn't make any sense to me.

    Blog text (11)
  • Uncertainty regarding the repeal of the estate tax is not the only area creating planning difficulties.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The Bush administration sharply reduced taxes on investment gains, stock dividends, and eliminated the estate tax.

  • When a person dies, their heirs must pay the estate tax before they can inherit the property.

  • The government uses the revenue from the estate tax to fund public services after a person passes away.

Synonyms

death tax
vsestate tax
  • US
8 5.9

A government charge on property given to people after someone dies

is specific to taxing total estate value before distribution
inheritance tax
vsestate tax
4 4.3

A tax on money or property you receive when someone dies

is charged on the whole estate before any distribution
death duty
vsestate tax
  • Archaic
8.1

A tax paid to the government on things a person owned when they died

is assessed on total estate value before any shares are given

Surface Forms

estate tax singular
estate taxes plural

Morphology

estate + tax

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'estate' (a person's assets at death) with 'tax' (a government charge) — i.e., a tax on the deceased person's estate. This is a common noun–noun compound pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The noun estate tax comes from the simple image of money taken from a person's property when they die. An estate is everything someone owned and a tax is money the government takes, so estate tax means a tax on that property 'after someone dies' and before it is given to the 'people who inherit'.