Estate Tax Repeal Sense of Senate Amendment Tacked onto Farm Bill

Estate Tax Repeal's Impact on States

A recent report from the New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) illustrates the havoc the 2001 tax cut's repeal of the estate tax is wreaking on the already strained New Jersey budget. The report offers a state-level solution to the problem created by the federal estate tax repeal process, which actually ends the states' ability to "pickup" a portion of the federal tax for themselves earlier than the federal government's estate tax ends. The NJPP website also provides links to the 3 newspapers that have thus far endorsed its proposal, as well as an op-ed piece that ran in the New York Times New Jersey edition.

An update on the efforts of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to repeal the estate tax.

Estate Tax Repeal's Impact on States

A recent report from the New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) illustrates the havoc the 2001 tax cut's repeal of the estate tax is wreaking on the already strained New Jersey budget. The report offers a state-level solution to the problem created by the federal estate tax repeal process, which actually ends the states' ability to "pickup" a portion of the federal tax for themselves earlier than the federal government's estate tax ends. The NJPP website also provides links to the 3 newspapers that have thus far endorsed its proposal, as well as an op-ed piece that ran in the New York Times New Jersey edition.

An update on the efforts of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to repeal the estate tax.

Estate Tax Repeal's Impact on States

A recent report from the New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) illustrates the havoc the 2001 tax cut's repeal of the estate tax is wreaking on the already strained New Jersey budget. The report offers a state-level solution to the problem created by the federal estate tax repeal process, which actually ends the states' ability to "pickup" a portion of the federal tax for themselves earlier than the federal government's estate tax ends. The NJPP website also provides links to the 3 newspapers that have thus far endorsed its proposal, as well as an op-ed piece that ran in the New York Times New Jersey edition.

An update on the efforts of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to repeal the estate tax.

As reported in the last issue of the OMB Watcher, there are many members of the Senate determined to make repeal of the estate tax permanent, even though such a costly measure would benefit less than 2% of the country's wealthiest estates each year, further exacerbate the fiscal crises currently facing state governments, and use up federal revenue that could be used to strengthen the nation's social programs.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is one of the Senate's most avid proponents of complete repeal of the estate tax, regardless of the cost or repeal's impact on the nation's priorities. When last week's failure of the economic stimulus packages (see related story, this issue) prevented his proposal for permanent repeal (introduced as an amendment to the Daschle stimulus package) from coming up for a vote, Kyl introduced the amendment again -- this time by attaching it to the Senate's farm bill.

As the Senate worked to finalize debate and vote on the farm bill (S. 1731), which includes a reauthorization of the Food Stamps program and restoration of Food Stamps benefits to documented immigrants (see the FRAC analysis for more information), Kyl offered an amendment expressing the "Sense of the Senate" that the estate tax should be made permanent by eliminating the sunset of the estate tax repeal in 2011. The Kyl amendment passed, 56-42 (see vote count).

This vote reinforces the need to continue calling and writing your members of Congress to remind them of the importance of the estate tax and your desire to have the money used to repeal the estate tax go to paying for the more-pressing needs of the country. For more on the estate tax and contact information for your Senators and Representatives, see OMB Watch's Activist Central page

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