Their Reasons:
Below is a summary of the debate that ensued between the two professors.
Bloink: I'm all for this type of plan, although I think it's far too soon to tell whether Sanders has a fighting chance at the presidency despite his general popularity. Sanders' estate tax proposal focuses on taxing the super-rich taxpayers who would otherwise be engaging in drastic estate planning techniques to avoid transfer taxes entirely and create dynasties that have, historically, lasted for generations. It's time that we focus more on what the country needs instead of encouraging such dramatic wealth inequity.
Byrnes: There's no way Sanders' estate tax scheme will ever become reality, so I'm not overly concerned. I do think this might be a call to action for wealthy clients who have tended to sit back and rely upon the generous estate tax exemption rather than engaging in any type of estate planning—and a reminder that estate planning is about more than just the transfer tax itself.
Bloink: Maybe Professor Byrnes is right in that this specific plan won't take off, but it's a reflection of where the party itself seems to be headed—just take a quick glimpse at the pool of Democratic presidential hopefuls to date. I think there's a huge movement in this country that could easily allow for a tax system that taxes the super-rich dramatically in order to provide what this country so critically needs right now—improvements to infrastructure, education and health care.
Byrnes: Professor Bloink keeps talking about the "super-rich", but this proposal would reduce the exemption to a mere $3.5 million per person—that's not $3.5 million in annual income, that's $3.5 million in the cumulative wealth that's been amassed over a person's entire lifetime. An exemption of $3.5 million creates a massive tax hike for taxpayers who would never be characterized as "super-rich" by any standard.
Bloink: The "massive tax hike" in Sanders' plan—a 77% estate tax rate—applies only to estates worth over $1 billion. I don't think anyone can say that someone who's amassed $1 billion over a lifetime is anything but super-rich.
Byrnes: Sure, but the plan still cuts the exemption by 2/3. Think about why the estate tax exemption is so high in the first place—we don't want to discourage Americans from working hard and amassing a comfortable amount of wealth. If you put these huge transfer tax rates out there, where's the incentive for small business owners to spend their lives working hard to fuel the economy and create jobs? If all those funds will be taxed away anyway—and remember that Sanders' plan also does away with some of the completely valid strategies that taxpayers might use to avoid these crazy taxes—I think that removes the incentive to create and innovate for a lot of Americans with moderate wealth.
Robert Bloink and William H. Byrnes 
Bloink 
Byrnes 
