Wednesday, May 19th 2010
Estate Tax Deal Falls Apart
TheHill.com is reporting that, according to Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), an agreement between Senate Democrats and Republicans on an estate tax proposal has fallen apart. Quoting Senator Kyl:
"We no longer have an agreement because the Democratic side has decided that unless a matter has a guaranteed majority of Democratic votes going in, they're not going to allow it on the floor, at least not voluntarily," he said. "So we have to find a way to get a reasonable permanent estate tax reform to the floor where members can vote on it."
Senator Kyl did not disclose the details of the proposal, but according to the article, “sources have told The Hill that lawmakers were looking to give taxpayers the option of prepaying their estate tax. The levy would be set at 35 percent for those worth more than $3.5 million. However, the exemption would ultimately increase over time to $5 million and wouldn't be indexed for inflation. Prepayment trusts would pay a lower rate.”
My personal opinion remains that we’re not likely to see any estate tax legislation before the November elections, and that retroactive legislation is less likely with each passing day.
The full article is available online here.
View other articles for: Estate Planning, Financial Issues