More than two dozen prominent billionaires, millionaires and high-profile Americans are calling for raising significantly more revenue from the federal estate tax than what the Obama administration is proposing, an organization representing the group disclosed today.
Unveiled by Responsible Wealth, a project of the non-partisan, non-profit United for a Fair Economy (UFE), the proposal calls for a $4 million exemption rate per couple and a graduated tax rate on the taxable estate, beginning at 45% and rising on the largest fortunes.
The proposal additionally embraces a simplified compliance with estate tax law to allow for state tax credits, portability, and reunification of federal gift taxes.
The list of Americans endorsing UFE's proposal during the conference call included Bill Gates Sr., Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Vanguard Founder John Bogle, Abigail Disney and Richard Rockefeller.
Other prominent Americans among the more than 300 individuals who have signed on to the proposal are former President, Jimmy Carter, Robert Reich, the former secretary of labor under the Clinton administration, as well as the American business magnates/investors/philanthropists Warren Buffett and George Soros.
