The modern federal estate and gift tax imposes a graduated tax schedule on transfers of property at death (the estate tax) and while living (the gift tax). Supporters of the tax see it as a way of ensuring that the wealthiest of Americans pay a larger share of taxes or else give away a larger share of their wealth to charity. Detractors view it as a "death tax"--a complex, unfair, and inefficient levy that penalizes the thriftiness of the deceased.