|
|
Is
the estate tax really dead?
|
|
Officially, the estate tax has been repealed, but
only for 2010. That's due to a provision in a 2001 law that gradually
reduced the estate tax rates and increased the exemption amount,
setting the tax to expire completely in 2010. According to that law,
the estate tax is scheduled to be reinstated in 2011 at its pre-2001
levels.
Congress
expected to deal with the estate tax by the end of 2009, and the House
did in fact pass a permanent extension of the tax at 2009 levels (with
a 45% top rate and a $3.5 million exemption). The Senate, however, was
focused on health care reform and ran out of time, leaving the estate
tax issue for 2010.
Now, the
expectation is that the Senate will deal with the estate tax in
January, reinstating it retroactive to the first of the year. However,
there is still no consensus on what the law should be and no certainty
that a bill will pass quickly.
Stay
tuned. Though Congress may not find it easy to reach an agreement on
the estate tax, you can be sure they are not likely to have it
disappear even for one year.
|
|
|
|
