Say goodbye to the Death Tax!

Nancy Pelosi tried to breathe new life into it, but it looks like the federal estate tax will expire on schedule at the end of this year.

Max Baucus tried a procedural move to extend the death tax by two months, until he and Harry Reid are finished with ramming ObamaCare down our throats, and presumably they can then devote their attention to "revenue enhancement". But the GOP leadership thwarted their plan, so fifteen days from now people who die won't have Uncle Sam picking their pockets before their bodies are even cold.

Unfortunately the repeal is still short-lived. The original phase-out of the death tax called for it to end completely in 2010, only to have it spring from the ash heap of history fully reincarnated at 55% as of January 1, 2011. This was a necessary sop by George W. Bush to bring reluctant democrats on board with his tax cuts.

But now that it's finally gone, and with the prospect of a conservative resurgence in the 2010 midterm elections looming in Reid and Pelosi's rear view mirrors, enthusiasm for what would amount to a massive tax hike on millions of Americans probably can't be found.

That's good news. The estate tax should remain dead and buried, forever.

Posted at 17:09 by Chris Wysocki   []   Comments | Perm Link |
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