senate rejects permanent Estate tax repeal
On July 21, the Senate rejected an amendment to the Small Business Jobs Act by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) that would permanently repeal the estate tax. However, Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) continue to press for consideration of their amendment to raise the estate tax exemption to $5 million and reduce the top rate to 35 percent phased in over 10 years and then to index it for inflation.
Kyl’s office reports that there continues to be no agreement between Republicans and Democrats on how to move forward with amendments. The Lincoln-Kyl amendment is currently being blocked by Senate leadership.
While Farm Bureau supports estate tax repeal, it is pushing for the Lincoln-Kyl amendment because it is a bipartisan effort with the best chances for passage. If Congress fails to take up estate tax relief, the result will be the scheduled $1 million exemption and top rate of 55 percent on Jan. 1.
“Farmers and ranchers and other family-owned business can’t afford to wait for estate tax relief,” said Patricia Wolff, American Farm Bureau Federation’s tax specialist. “The heirs of people who died this year don’t know what their taxes will be, making it difficult to settle estates and operate their businesses. Farmers and ranchers trying to do estate planning find it impossible to plan without knowing what the exemption tax rate will be.”