Death and Taxes

Death & Taxes

Death & Taxes is a feature documentary about family, wealth, inequality and the American Dream, viewed through the lens of the estate tax and the very personal story of a father and son at odds over what kind of inheritance we want to leave our kids and our country.

Filmmaker Justin Schein’s father, Harvey Schein, liked to say he lived the so-called “American Dream” – rising from poverty in Depression-era Brooklyn to great financial success as one of America’s top CEOs of the 1970s. Harvey Schein, who ran the American arm of Sony for many years also spent the last 20 years of his life fixated on trying to keep his hard-earned wealth from the taxman – an obsession that dominated Schein family conversations.

Filmed over more than 20 years and weaving intimate family footage with interviews of prominent experts from all sides of the debate, Death & Taxes tells this crucial story through the tale of one American family. Q&A with Director Justin Schein following screening, with conversation moderated by Former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.

Danny Werfel served as the 50th Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, serving from 2023 to 2025. His expansive career in public service, beginning in 1997 with the Office of Management and Budget, also included work with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the Office of Federal Financial Management, the Financial Integrity and Analysis Branch, and others. Ultimately, he ascended to the position of OMB Controller before transitioning to the private sector.