The estate tax raised $8.5 billion in 2012 — less than 1% of the $1.2 trillion inherited that year.

Only 1 out of every 700 deaths results in paying the federal estate tax today. The vast majority of estates — 99.9% — do not pay federal estate taxes.

While the top estate tax rate is 40%, the average tax rate paid is just 17%.
The estate tax is only paid on assets greater than $5.3 million per individual ($10.6 million per couple). Even billionaires pay nothing on the first $5.3 million left to their heirs.

Only 20 small business and family farm estates nationwide owed any estate tax in 2013.

The estate tax will raise $225 billion over the next 10 years. This is more than the $164 billion 10-year shortfall in the highway and mass transit trust funds.

The Walton family — which owns half of Walmart — has exploited a loophole in the estate tax to avoid paying $3 billion in estate taxes. This could increase by tens of billions in the future.