Blogs Derek's Tax Blog Update: New Estate Tax Bill
As discussed last week, Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott introduced an estate tax bill yesterday. It is H.R. 2023, entitled “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform the estate and gift tax”. The text is not yet available, but you can get the text and check the status with the last two links. It appears that the bill includes a permanent estate tax exemption of $2.0 million, higher tax rates, and indexing.
This bill adds to a growing debate on the future of the estate tax that already includes President Obama and his budget, the house and senate budget resolutions, the Kyl / Lincoln amendment, and H.R. 436. Also adding to this debate is a growing number of Op-Ed pieces and studies in favor of higher estate taxes, including recently OMB Watch, USA Today, and The Christian Science Monitor.