Tax Us, Please!

Nuking the estate tax is a favorite cause of both the rich and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill.

Maybe that's why a full-page advertisement in Sunday's New York Times is so very eye-popping.

The ad, signed by big-bucks names and other taxpayers from all walks of life, attacks the current drive to end the tax on inherited money, businesses and other property.

The group, which calls itself Responsible Wealth, is led by William H. Gates Senior - father of Bill Gates, internet billionaire.

Signing the ad, along with Gates Senior, is a long list of names including Steven C. Rockefeller, David Rockefeller, Jr., Agnes Gund, George Soros, Paul Newman, Franklin and Jinx Roosevelt, Ben Cohen, John Kenneth Galbraith and James K. Galbraith - all individuals who have paid or expect to owe estate tax.

"This is money which exists in large part because of the society which we've created here," explains Gates Senior, in an interview with CBS News Correspondent Eric Engberg. "In order to sustain that society, we do need a certain level of tax revenue."

Gates' group argues that the tax revenue lost if the estate tax were abolished would "inevitably be made up either by increasing taxes on those less able to pay, or by cutting Social Security, Medicare, environmental protection, and many other government programs so important to our nation's continued well-being."

Republicans who champion the repeal of the estate tax have especially pointed to its effects on family farmers and other family businesses which can be split up when the owner dies.

Responsible Wealth counters that argument by saying it recognizes the importance of protecting small businesses and farms, but believes the tax should be amended, not dumped.

The group also argues that the estate tax "exerts a powerful and positive effect on charitable giving" and says repeal would have a "devasting impact" on charities who rely on donations.

Rep. Jennifer Dunn, a Republican from Washington state, says she thinks just the opposite is true.

"I think that when people have more dollars in their pockets, they're going to give more to charities," says Dunn.

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