Japan: $12.3 million
United States: $7.5 million
Hong Kong: $2.2 million
South Korea: $1.1 million
Mexico City: $365,000
UK: 16.3% . . .
Brazil: 22.7% . . .
Bolivia: 42.5% . . .
Indonesia: 50.6% . . .
Albania: 69.2% . . . 
Netherlands: $36 . . .
Spain: $26 . . . 
Serbia: $119 . . .
Turkey: $220 . . .
Australia: $241 . . .
Germany: $266 . . .
Portugal: $320 . . .
Greece: $718 . . . 
France:1.5% ($333) . . .
Luxembourg: 2.4% ($820) . . .
Russia: 3.5% ($280) . . .
Perhaps we should expect some untimely deaths among the rich this month. This is the last month they are likely to get away with it tax-free. The tax-cut bill passed by the Bush administration in 2001 mandated that the estate tax disappear in 2010, only to be restores next year at a 55 percent rate on estates above $1 million. This means that for every billionaire that dies this year, the Internal Revenue Service will pay a high price in lost revenue.
George Steinbrenner, who owned the Yankees, died this year leaving an estate of $1.5 billion. Janet Morse Cargill left behind a $1.6 billion fortune. Texas pipeline magnate Dan Duncan died with a net worth of $9.8 billion, and Walter Shorenstein of California real estate money had a $1.1 billion estate. Some lawyers estimated that these deaths cost the government $6.5 billion in foregone taxes.
I thank Freakonomics for the pointer.
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