Estate Tax Repeal Proponents Not Slowed By Obama Proposals

The proposal by President Obama to eliminate step-up basis has not stopped supporters of repealing the estate tax. Proponents of estate tax repeal point out that fewer than 5,000 taxable estate tax returns were filed in 2013, which is lower than 1% of deceased individuals.  Multiple financial planners have expressed the belief that Obama’s proposals on capital gains taxes was a preemptive strike against bills that would repeal the estate tax by putting a bargaining chip on the table.

See Bloomberg BNA, Potential for Estate Tax Repeal Grows Despite New Obama Capital Gains Proposal,Daily Tax Report,  Jan. 26, 2015.