依老貓的看法基本上這句話是要求您
付清您的(gross estate) "淨資產"的"Tax", 如同您需要付清您的債務一般。
(原文或許應該是
you should pay out of your gross estate [tax], as if they were your debts.
因為 gross estate的定義是 "Income subject to federal income tax", 所以您不太可能"付清您的income,....."
同時
IRS 有關 Estate Tax 的規定如下
The Estate Tax is a tax on your right to transfer property at your death. It consists of an accounting of everything you own or have certain interests in at the date of death (Refer to Form 706). The fair market value of these items is used, not necessarily what you paid for them or what their values were when you acquired them. The total of all of these items is your "Gross Estate." The includible property may consist of Cash and Securities, Real Estate, Insurance, Trusts, Annuities, Business interests and other assets.
Once you have accounted for the Gross Estate, certain deductions (and in special circumstances, reductions to value) are allowed in arriving at your "Taxable Estate." These deductions may include Mortgages and other Debts, Estate Administration expenses, property that passes to Surviving Spouses and Qualified Charities. The value of some operating business interests or farms may be reduced for estates that qualify.
(詳細的資料請參考
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=108143,00.html)