Publication Date
1970
Abstract
THE federal estate tax is imposed on "the transfer of the taxable estate" of the decedent. Obviously, it applies to property, owned by the decedent at death, which he can transmit to others by will or which will pass according to the laws of intestate succession. To the initiated, it is equally clear that the tax applies as well to many types of property interests not owned by the decedent at death but, by express statutory prescription, required to be treated as if so owned. The question raised here is: how far may the Treasury and the courts go in conjuring up estate tax ownership concepts that are at variance with property law principles and which are not expressly supported by provisions in the taxing statute? The first time this question arose, the answer seemed to be "Not very far." And in the area where the question first arose, that still seems to be the answer. But, as will soon be seen, that is only part of the story.
Recommended Citation
Stephens, Richard B.
(1970)
"The Clifford Shadow Over the Federal Estate Tax,"
Georgia Law Review: Vol. 4:
No.
2, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol4/iss2/2