The estate tax — which effectively acts like an inheritance tax on the assets of the wealthiest AmericansAi?? — is one of the most progressive taxes that we have. Currently, the richest ten percent of Americans pay the entirety of the tax, and it only applies to inherited assets beyond $5 million.

President Obama just proposed raising the estate tax rate from 35 to 45 percent and lowering the exemption to $3.5 million. This would still result in the tax falling almost entirely on the backs of the very richest Americans.

But Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D) is moving to kill Obama’s progressive proposal to tax millionaires. “Rural Montana is much different than urban America,” he told Reuters, claiming that the tax would fall on the backs of family farmers.

But only 100 farming estates pay the estate tax now. Under Obama’s plan, only the 300 richest farming estates would have to pay the tax.

Is Baucus really going to try to kill Obama’s progressive plan to ask more from the wealthy in order to protect America’s 300 richest, multi-millionaire farmers?

We conducted polling in Montana that found that 77 percent of those living there want to see higher taxes on incomes of over a million dollars.