President Obama has recently released his proposals for the 2017 budget. Many of the proposed estate tax and gift tax provisions are similar to proposals from previous years. Right now Republicans control both houses of congress so the adoption of these proposals is probably not going to happen. Things could change in January 2017 if Democrats do manage to take over both the House and the Senate. There could be changes to the estate tax exemption level as well as an increase in the tax rate. Advanced planning techniques like the 2-year GRAT might be curtailed or eliminated. The annual exclusion for Crummy gifting opportunities could be capped at $50,000 per donor. There are also proposals to get rid of the income tax savings that come from the step-up in basis for inherited property.
See John P. Dedon, Any Estate Tax Changes on the Horizon?, The National Law Review, February 27, 2016.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
