On December 3rd the House passed H.R. 4154, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farms, and Small business Act of 2009 by a vote of 225 to 200.
The bill willl permently extend the tax exempton and the maximum tax at the current rate. As of 2009, the estate tax deduction is set at $3.5 million for individuals and $7 million for married couples and the maximum tax rate on estate is 45%.
Last week, Senator Pomeroy introduced H.R. 4154. The bill is scheduled for discussion and a vote later this week.
The language in H.R. 4154 is very short and to the point.
This Act may be cited as the “Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009″.
The bill includes this language: ” A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the new carryover basis rules in order to prevent tax increases and the imposition of compliance burdens on many more estates than would benefit from repeal, to retain the estate tax with a $3,500,000 exemption, and for other purposes.”
If passed, the bill freezes the maximum gift tax rate and estate tax rate at the current 45%.