Is jointly owned property subject to the federal estate tax?

IS JOINTLY OWNED PROPERTY SUBJECT TO THE FEDERAL ESTATE TAX?
The IRS often operates by its version of the Golden Rule which is, "if you have the gold you make the rules." Consequently, the IRS presumes that if there are joint owners of property all of its value should be subject to tax at the death of the first joint owner. Fortunately if it can be shown that the surviving joint owner contributed to the value of the joint asset, the amount of such contribution will not be taxed. In addition, regardless of the amount of the contribution , only half of the value of assets jointly owned by a married person may be subject to tax.