|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Money, Insurance & Investments for Seniors
Estate Tax Exemption Fixed at $3.5 Million by
Congress
House and Senate to allow $7 million per couple,
with top tax of 45%
 May 20, 2007 ElderLawAnswers.com reports today
that the House and Senate have approved a $2.9 trillion budget
resolution that would keep the estate tax at where it will be in 2009
under the current law. This means that the per-person estate tax
exemption would be $3.5 million ($7 million for a married couple) and
the top tax rate would be 45 percent.
Congress's vote for the nonbinding budget blueprint
sets guidelines for it to follow when writing tax and spending
legislation later this year. The House passed the measure by a 214-209
vote without a single Republican voting for it.
The Senate vote was 52-40 in favor, with
Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine joining Democrats
in voting yes. The budget doesnt have the force of law and any changes
to the estate tax would have to be made through subsequent legislation,
but it is a clear sign of congressional sentiment.
The estate tax is set to expire in 2010, followed
in 2011 by a return to 2001 levels, with an individual exemption of $1
million and a top tax rate of 55 percent. In the last Congress, Senate
Republicans fell four votes short of a measure that would have increased
the estate tax exemption to the first $5 million of an individual's
estate and would have lowered the top estate tax rate to 35 percent.
For an earlier article on the estate tax, see
"Fixing Estate Tax at 2009 Level Appears
to Have Senate Support".
>> For updates on this story
click here.
>> Home page
www.ElderLawAnswers.com
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
