Estate Tax is Off Congress’ Agenda

The last 12 months have taught us that a lot can happen with regard to the estate tax between now and 2013, when the current tax system is scheduled to morph again. Since the tax laws went into effect in January, there’s barely been a peep from either side, and Congress is focusing on other issues. The IRS is only now issuing guidance on how to file tax returns for those who inherited money in 2010.

Joel Dobris, an estate planning professor at UC Davis School of Law, said that the fight over whether the 3,500 richest American families are taxed or not has mostly symbolic value. The bottom line is that the primary engine of federal revenue was always the income tax, and an additional $20 billion from estate taxes won’t “move the $1 trillion deficit needle one way or the other.”

“[W]hile it might not be worth it to Congress to fight over, it makes a lot of difference to advisors and their clients.”

Scott Martin, Savvy Advisors Using “Lock in Estate Tax Exemptions Now” Marketing Opportunity to Gain New Client Relationships, The Trust Advisor Blog, Apr. 17, 2011.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this to my attention.