When Bombers Trumped Inheritance

From a  Bessemer Trust lawyer's notes on the recent Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning.

Estate tax repeal has been considered by various administrations. One staffer from 1986 has stated that negotiation of the momentous 1986 Tax Reform Act came down to one last item. The legislative staffers told President Reagan that he could get rid of the estate tax but he would have to give up the B-2 bomber. President Reagan replied that he would rather keep the B-2 bomber.