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States and localities should carefully evaluate the effectiveness of the incentives they offer to attract or retain businesses.

Policymakers should retain estate and inheritance taxes as important components of our tax structure.

Federal and state estate and inheritance taxes should affect only the largest transfers.

When considering bond financing, state and local policymakers should:

Policymakers should not increase the taxation of Social Security benefits. People with low and moderate incomes should be exempt from paying tax on their benefits.

States should simplify estate planning. This includes allowing the use of electronic wills or trusts to govern the distribution of property at death.

States should expand laws on durable powers of attorney to:

States should codify, simplify, and clarify trust laws. They should model them on the Uniform Trust Code.

Policymakers should encourage advance care planning. This should include the creation of advance directives.

Policymakers should simplify, expedite, and minimize the cost of probate.