New Bill Halves Estate Tax

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, chairman of the House Budget Committee, has introduced legislation, the Estate Tax Rate Reduction Act, to cut the estate tax in half — to 20% from 40% — as it’s “the highest tax rate” in the U.S. Tax Code.

The bill, H.R. 7993, introduced on April 15, would reduce “the tax burden on family-owned businesses” as well as allow “business owners to invest more of their hard-earned money in expanding their operations and creating jobs,” Arrington said in a statement.

The estate tax is “an unfair double tax that could force the next generation to sell their family business — on which they’ve paid a lifetime of taxes — to pay another tax simply because of a family member’s passing,” Arrington said. “I am proud to introduce legislation to cut this punishing and unnecessary financial burden.”

Election Talk to Include Estate Tax Policy

The U.S. has “a very generous estate tax code today,” Jeff Bush of The Washington Update told ThinkAdvisor Friday in an email. “The dialogue around tax reform heading into the election and when we actually begin the process, post-election, will include estate tax policy.”