Questions Surrounding Obama’s Tax Proposals

The tax proposals from President Obama, including increased capital-gains tax rate for top earners and an end to step-up basis, and a White House fact sheet has raised questions. Here are some inquiries raised by the proposals:

• Whether the person giving or receiving the gift would owe the capital gains tax?
• Whether the new tax structure would include a provision directing executors how to handle property when they do not know how much they paid for it originally?
• Will trust distributions trigger capital-gains tax?
• Where is the line between which family heirlooms will be considered excluded?

See Laura Saunders, 5 Questions on Obama’s ‘Step Up’ Tax Proposal, The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 22, 2015.

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