Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) told reporters he is still set on moving ahead with an estate tax vote. He is hoping the vote, which was originally scheduled for September 5, will take place in October.
Some Congressional GOP leaders have come under fire as of recently for voicing their desires to move ahead with tax cuts, or votes on tax cuts, during a time when so many poor people are so obviously in need of help via a social strong safety net. Repealing the estate tax would essentially give billions of dollars back to the wealthiest in our society and gut national revenue, rather than help the poor. Even so, Kyl has said he wants to hold a vote "to determine whether or not the votes are there for permanent repeal.... That hasn't changed."
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), who has been the lead estate tax negotiator for the Democrats, has pulled out of compromise negotiations with Kyl. Without a compromise, Kyl has proposed tying the estate tax rate to the 15 percent rate on capital gains and dividends and raising the exemption to
$8 million. Read this Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report outlining how this "compromise" would, in reality, end up being little better than full repeal.
