Product Number WP 2000-5 Ju ne 30, 20 00 From the Office of Tax Policy Research WORKING PAPER SERIES The Impact of the Estate Tax on Wealth Accumulation and Avoidance Behavior of Donors = = = = by Wojciech Kopczuk University of Michigan Joel Slemrod University of Michigan = = = The Office of Tax Policy Research, established in 1987, promotes policy- oriented research in taxation, and serves = as a liaison between the academic, business, and policy making communities. We are committed to using = state-of-the-art methods to analyze tax policy issues, and to disseminate our = findings, and those of a broader academic community, to people in the policy making community. = LEADIN G IN THOUGHT AND ACTION