December 12, 2012 10:50AM 

# Euphemism of the Day 

By [Sallie James](https://www.cato.org/people/sallie-james) 

---

<a class="js-popover-trigger cursor-pointer popover-trigger" data-bs-placement="bottom" data-bs-trigger="click" id="popover-trigger"> 

SHARE 

</a> 

According to the [*Washington Post*](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/democratic-senators-take-issue-with-the-estate-tax/2012/12/11/0b62efb0-43d4-11e2-8e70-e1993528222d_story.html), it’s not a “death tax,” it’s a “posthumous federal levy on accumulated wealth.” So there.

##### Related Tags 

[Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) 

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).