Economic Consequences of Tennessee’s Gift and Estate Tax

By Arthur B. Laffer, PhD

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Tennessee is one of 19 states with a separate estate tax and one of only two states with a gift tax, which has caused the state to underperform in comparison to other right-to-work states and other states with no earned income tax, low corporate tax, and low overall tax burdens according to authors Arthur B. Laffer, PhD and Wayne Winegarden, PhD.
The cost Tennessee has paid for its gift and estate tax in lost economic growth and employment is staggering. Had Tennessee eliminated its gift and estate tax 10 years ago, Tennessee’s economy would have been over 14% larger in 2010 and there would have been 200,000 to 220,000 more jobs in the state. And, the more robust economic growth would have benefited state and local government revenues adding between $7 billion and $7.3 billion to state and local coffers. (more)
http://www.laffercenter.com/economic-consequences-tennessees-gift-estate-tax/