Estate Tax Confusion Continues

As I previously mentioned, the House Democrats rejected the Obama deal on December 9 in a non-binding vote. Some think that the estate tax reform under the Obama deal will still be passed, while others think the uncertainty will continue into the new year and possibly even further.

For example, in his article that I recently blogged about, Lewis Dymond states that the estate tax uncertainty will likely continue until the 2013 Congress and administration. In contrast, a recent Wall Street Journal article stated that the passage of the Obama deal is still likely and that, “Even if most House Democrats vote against the tax-cut measure because of the estate-tax terms, it’s possible that enough centrists would side with Republicans and Mr. Obama to pass the bill.”

John D. McKinnon and Laura Saunders, Estate-Tax Passage is Likely, W.S.J., Dec. 9, 2010. See also Hani Sarji, House Democrats Reject Obama Deal in Non-Binding Vote: Will Estate Tax Uncertainty Cloud the New Year?, Forbes, Dec. 10, 2010.

Special thanks to Hani Sarji (Estate of Confusion) and Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this to my attention.