Table 7--Current State death tax systems in the 
South 
State E I 
Alabama 
Arkansas 
Florida 
Georgia 
Louisiana » 4 
Mississippi X 
North Carolina x 
Oklahoma x 
South Carolina x 
Tennessee 4 
Texas 
Virginia 
Type of tax1) 
PB PU G 
xX 
X 
X 
X 
X X 
X X 
Xx X 
X X 
X X 
Xx 
X 
(1) Key to abbreviations for types of taxes: E = Estate, | = 
Inheritance, PB = Piggyback, PU = Pickup, G = Gift. 
State Death Taxes 
The current death tax systems of the Southern 
States are shown in table 7. Four types of death 
taxes are currently utilized in the South--the inherit- 
ance tax, the estate tax, the piggy-back tax, and the 
pick-up tax (Olsen and Haney 1980). 
An estate tax is a levy on the right to transfer 
property by the decedent's estate. South Carolina, 
Oklahoma, and Mississippi currently impose an es- 
tate tax. 
An inheritance tax is a levy on the right to re- 
ceive property by the individual heirs or legatees. 
Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee have an 
inheritance tax. 
A piggy-back tax is equal to the State death tax 
credit allowable against the Federal estate tax. Al- 
abama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Vir- 
ginia levy a piggy-back tax. 
A pick-up tax absorbs the difference between 
an inheritance or estate tax and the maximum credit 
118 
allowed for State death taxes on the Federal return. 
South Carolina, Louisiana, Oklahoma, North Car- 
olina, and Tennessee all impose a pick-up tax. 
In addition to death taxes, five Southern States-- 
South Carolina, North Carolina, Oklahoma, 
Louisiana, and Tennessee--have a gift tax. 
Special use valuation for State death tax pur- 
poses is available for forest estates in all the South- 
ern States except Louisiana, Oklahoma, North Car- 
olina, and South Carolina (Walden and others 
1985). It is available indirectly through the Federal 
estate tax for the six piggy-back States--Alabama, 
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia. In 
addition, Mississippi and Tennessee have "stand- 
alone" special use valuation provisions for wood- 
land. Most Southern States also allow some degree 
of deferral and extension for State death tax pay- 
ments. The qualifications and details vary by State. 
They are summarized in table 8. 
