death tax
noun
: a tax arising on the transmission of property after the owner's death
especially
: estate tax
Examples of death tax in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
So get rid of the death tax for everybody.
—
Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 31 Mar. 2023
But some, without inflation adjustments, are still taxing estates at levels that haven’t budged for years, meaning more families are getting surprise death tax bills.
—Ashlea Ebeling, Forbes, 13 May 2022
President Biden has set his sights on enacting a new death tax on top of the existing estate tax.
—Chuck Grassley, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2021
House Bill 2881, filed by representative Shawn Dooley of Norfolk, fixes the flaws of our current Massachusetts death tax.
—BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2021
The real cost of losing senior residents who seek to avoid the Massachusetts death tax?
—BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2021
Anyone who wants to prevent the short-termism prevalent in corporate America should think twice about creating disincentives to long-term planning via the death tax.
—WSJ, 17 June 2021
This is a backdoor death tax, and Penn Wharton estimates the change would raise up to $113 billion over a decade.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 6 May 2021
Scaling back the step-up (which has been around since 1921) will also effectively extend the reach of a de facto estate tax far below the level at which the regular death tax kicks in.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 1 May 2021
Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 31 Mar. 2023
But some, without inflation adjustments, are still taxing estates at levels that haven’t budged for years, meaning more families are getting surprise death tax bills.
—Ashlea Ebeling, Forbes, 13 May 2022
President Biden has set his sights on enacting a new death tax on top of the existing estate tax.
—Chuck Grassley, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2021
House Bill 2881, filed by representative Shawn Dooley of Norfolk, fixes the flaws of our current Massachusetts death tax.
—BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2021
The real cost of losing senior residents who seek to avoid the Massachusetts death tax?
—BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2021
Anyone who wants to prevent the short-termism prevalent in corporate America should think twice about creating disincentives to long-term planning via the death tax.
—WSJ, 17 June 2021
This is a backdoor death tax, and Penn Wharton estimates the change would raise up to $113 billion over a decade.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 6 May 2021
Scaling back the step-up (which has been around since 1921) will also effectively extend the reach of a de facto estate tax far below the level at which the regular death tax kicks in.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 1 May 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'death tax.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1880, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near death tax
Cite this Entry
“Death tax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death%20tax. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Legal Definition
death tax
noun
: a tax assessed on the transfer of property (as an estate, inheritance, legacy, or succession) after the transferor's death compare estate tax, generation-skipping transfer tax, gift tax
More from Merriam-Webster on death tax
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for death tax
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about death tax
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share