Tax Law Bill Should Pass

On Monday evening at 6:39 pm the Washington Post was reporting that the Senate has the votes to pass the new tax legislation brokered between House republicans and President Obama. The Post states it should be voted on Tuesday in the Senate and on Wednesday in the House. Most serious challenges are coming from the Democrats in the House of Representatives, many who oppose the new estate tax rate exemption of $5 million ($10 million for couples) and a rate of 35%. It appears an amendment may be under consideration. The Post does state if the House tries to change the estate tax portion, the Senate will reject the amendment.

From the article, it certainly appears that the Estate Tax provision will be settled this week.

The Post reports

But the main change House Democrats seem to want is the substitution of the estate tax provision with parameters that were in place in 2009 — an exemption of $3.5 million per person and a maximum rate of 45 percent.

Aides said one possibility would be to propose the change as an amendment, using legislative language developed previously by Representative Earl Pomeroy, Democrat of North Dakota.

The overall tax package is expected to win approval in the House given strong support among Republicans. But it is unclear what the estate tax change would mean.

If the House amendment is approved, the Senate is virtually certain to reject it. Senate Republicans strongly support the estate tax provision agreed to by the White House, and some Democrats also favor it, including Senator Blanche L. Lincoln of Arkansas, who co-sponsored similar legislation on the estate tax in the past.

To read the Washington Post article, click HERE.