Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) recently introduced legislation (S. 2242) to permanently repeal the federal estate tax to protect American family businesses. The Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act, which has 32 co-sponsors, mirrors the bipartisan House bill (H.R. 1259) currently pending before the House Ways & Means Committee with more than 200 co-sponsors.
In addition to permanently repealing the estate tax, both the Senate and House bills include provisions to:
- Repeal the generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes
- Permanently set the gift tax exemption at $5 million
- Protect families from high capital gains taxes on inherited estates
In 2012, the tax is at a 35 percent rate with a $5 million exemption. However, without action, the estate tax will jump to pre-2001 levels (55 percent rate and $1 million exemption). The Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) believes Congress should resolve the uncertainty surrounding the estate tax (preferably through permanent repeal) so that family businesses do not continue to incur massive estate planning and insurance costs as the tax fluctuates from year to year.
AED supports efforts like Sen. Thune’s legislation to bring long-term solutions to the estate tax and foster small business growth. Be sure to encourage your lawmakers to co-sponsor this important bill usingwww.AEDAction.org.
