State of the Estate
Will congress finally repeal the estate tax for good?
Small-business advocates are making renewed attempts to
permanently repeal the estate tax, which is being phased out
between now and 2010, only to reappear in 2011. Senate and House
versions of the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005 (S.
420/H.R. 8) have been introduced, and they have bipartisan support.
The House and Senate budget resolutions for fiscal 2006 look like
they will allow for the extension of some tax cuts passed in 2001
and 2003--now comes the fight for which cuts will be extended or
made permanent.
In June 2003, the House passed a permanent repeal of the estate
tax, but the Senate Finance Committee never took it up. The House
recently re-passed the bill on April 13. But will the Senate block
it again?
Jill Gerber, spokesperson for Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa),
chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, says Grassley is
supportive of the repeal, but acknowledges that it may not be easy
to pass. "In a deficit-reduction environment, permanent repeal
of the estate tax competes with extension of marginal-rate tax
cuts, family tax cuts and small-business tax cuts," she
says.
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When asked if there will be enough votes in the Senate to pass
the repeal in 2005-2006, one small-business lobbyist says, "We
are pretty close. But in the Senate, you never know until the day
of the vote."
Stephen Barlas is a freelance business reporter who covers
the Washington beat for 15 magazines.