Estate Taxes in 2010

Under the Bush tax cuts of 2001, the estate tax was supposed to fully disappear for the year 2010 and resume in 2011.  Instead, President Obama is assuming that the 2009 tax levels will carry over for 2010. There are two sides, however, to the question about whether the estate-tax plan for 2010 should be changed.

• In opposition of change: Some members of congress, who may be motivated by self-interest and/or ideology, and the very small number of Americans who will potentially be harmed by the higher-than-expected tax rate.

• In favor of change: Those who feel the estate tax is a necessary source of revenue for a highly indebted nation and those who believe the super-rich, at the center of high-salary and big-bonus scandals, are to blame for the current financial crisis.

See David R. Francis, Tax the heirs of the rich (at least a few of them), The Christian Science Monitor, April 22, 2009.

Thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.