Congress Considers Estate Tax

After a member of Congress introduced legislation to repeal the estate tax, a House subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday on the subject.

Representative Kevin Brady (R-Texas), introduced the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015 last month.  The bill would amend the Tax Code to repeal both the estate tax and the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax.  Proponents of the bill argue that the estate tax hurts small businesses, family farmers and ranchers who hope to pass on their businesses to the next generation.  Yet, opponents point out that the estate tax only affects a few families, especially after the exemption amount was raised to $5 million. 

Ray Madoff, a professor at Boston College Law School, believes that Congress should not be hasty when it comes to repealing the estate tax.  He says that the estate tax promotes fairness in the tax system and provides an important source of revenue for the government.  According to the most recent estimates, the estate tax will generate about $294 billion over the next ten years.

See Michael Cohn, Congress Mulls Repeal of Estate Tax, Accounting Today, March 18, 2015.