Estate Tax: House Expected To Pass Legislative Fix

The House was expected to take up a bill during the week of Nov. 30 that would freeze the estate tax permanently at 2009 levels. As a floor vote drew near, industry sources said they expected easy passage of the measure, which would keep the estate-tax exemption at $3.5 million for individuals. The maximum tax rate would remain at 45%.

Democratic leaders in Congress and the Obama administration say a legislative “fix” is needed to ensure the inheritance tax does not revert in 2011 to pre-Bush era levels, when an estate-tax reform bill enacted in 2001 expires.

The Associated General Contractors supports the House bill, says Karen Lapsevic, director of tax and fiscal affairs. But she says AGC would prefer a lower exemption level and top tax rate.

Pam Hunter McFarland was a Senior Editor of ENR and her expertise was: Sourcebooks, Environment, Labor

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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