The push to repeal the estate tax in Congress is losing momentum, according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times. While abolishing the "death tax" was a major priority among Republican lawmakers last year, that may take a back seat to other tax cuts, such as reductions in income tax rates, which would be seen as a more immediate stimulation for the slowing economy.

Also, criticism for estate tax repeal has surfaced in surprising places, including the White House. John J. Dilulio Jr, a top Bush advisor, has voiced opposition, as well as a group of more than 120 wealthy individuals including William H. Gates Sr. (father of Microsoft's Bill Gates), Ben Cohen (founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream), and a couple Rockefellers. The group, known as Responsible Wealth, claims that "repealing the estate tax would enrich the heirs of America's millionaires and billionaires while hurting families who struggle to make ends meet."

But proponents of estate tax repeal counter this criticism with criticism of their own. They claim Responsible Wealth is made up of individuals who are so wealthy they can buy their way out of paying estate taxes. "It's chump change for billionaires," said Dan Blankenburg, a lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Businesses. "I don't know why they think it is necessary to hold everyone else hostage to the death tax when they simply avoid it."