Estate Tax. During consideration of a bill to extend unemployment benefits (H.R. 4213), Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.) offered a measure to submit the bill to the Finance Committee with instructions to include language to permanently repeal the estate tax. Under current law, the estate tax, which expired at the end of 2009 after being incrementally reduced, will rise to 55 percent next year with an exemption of $1 million. The estate tax often forces the sale of family farms and other businesses that owners want to bequeath to their children.
A motion to allow for a vote on DeMint’s measure was rejected on July 21, 2010 by a vote of 39-59 (Roll Call 213). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the estate tax should be permanently eliminated.
