What is a fair rate of tax and exemption for the federal estate tax? It’s a matter of opinion, of course, but, based upon experience with many business owners and others who have accumulated wealth, here’s a suggestion: the tax rate should permit someone who has worked to acquire a substantial level of wealth to have enough to pass on to the next generation, so that they can enjoy some of the fruits of the labor of the older generation, but not so much that their need to have productive lives is taken away. What is that rate of tax? A tax rate ranging from 15% to 35%, after an exemption of $5,000,000, indexed for inflation, would probably cover only a small number of people but still raise the substantial amounts of revenue needed for government functions.  As it happens, those are the numbers now being considered for a resolution of the future of the estate tax, at least among those who have given up the impractical dream of repeal.