According to North Dakota Congressman Earl Pomeroy’s website, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on H.R. 4154, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009 on Thursday, December 3, 2009. The bill proposes to freeze the estate tax exclusion at $3.5 million with a maximum tax rates of 45%.
As noted in earlier posts, current law repeals the estate tax for 2010 and reinstates it for 2011, with an exemption of only $1 million and a maximum rate of 55%.
As with so many budgetary issues, depending on what you compare it to, you can spin it as a tax increase or, more logically, as an overall tax cut. Compared to current law, it’s an increase for 2010 and a cut for 2011 and beyond.
In case you’re wondering, the farm picture is courtesy of Congressman Pomeroy’s website.
Update 12/4/09: The House passed the bill 225-200. See House Votes to Extend Tax on Estates of the Wealthy, NYT 12/3/09, which notes that the bill might be delayed in the Senate, but that “lawmakers do not want to delay action until next year because they are wary of enacting retroactive tax changes.”
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