Repeal of Federal Death Tax Could Generate 42,000 N.C. Jobs

New study estimates 1.5 million new jobs nationwide with end of estate tax

RALEIGH (Carolina Journal Online) — North Carolina could add more than 42,000 jobs at no cost to taxpayers if the federal government got rid of its estate tax. That figure is based on research associated with a new report from the Washington, D.C.-based American Family Business Foundation.

"While North Carolina continues to throw millions of dollars at companies to bring in much smaller numbers of jobs, this research suggests a much more effective way to put North Carolinians back to work," said Joseph Coletti, John Locke Foundation Fiscal Policy Analyst. "State lawmakers have agreed to forgo as much as $46 million in tax revenue for the next 10 years so Apple will create 50 full-time jobs. If we can create 800 times as many jobs without taking money out of taxpayers' pockets, it seems like a good idea."

The new report does not spell out the additional job gains North Carolina would see with a repeal of its state death tax, Coletti said. "The state death tax contributes less than 1 percent of tax revenues, while the benefits of getting rid of the tax could be substantial," he said. "I would bet that repealing the death tax has a better bang for the buck than giving targeted incentives to government-selected companies."