Sessions Introduces Costly Estate Tax Repeal Bill
by Guest Blogger, 5/16/2005
May 10 Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) introduced a bill to repeal the estate tax that would cost considerably more than Sen. Kyl's (R-AZ) version of the bill.
Kyl and Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced a bill (S. 420) earlier this year that would prevent the one-year estate tax repeal slated to take effect in 2010 from sunsetting. In other words, their bill would institute full repeal beginning in 2010. Sessions' bill would repeal the estate tax immediatly, and would also eliminate the step-up in basis for assets of the deceased. Sessions is arguing that immediate repeal would actually increase government revenues; however the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities have both found that cost of full repeal would be close to $1 trillion over a decade.
Senate Democrats, led by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), are currently working with the Republican leadership to see if there is an estate tax compromise out there that would garner the support of 60 Senators.
