Another little job George Bush left undone. He had a golden opportunity when they revised the estate tax to put in some permanent estate tax code so people could make plans. But, he bailed out and just let it lapse at the end of this year. With no new estate tax plan, the estate tax reverts to a 55% rate with a $1 million exemption. If Congress doesn’t act, the estate tax for 2010 is zero. In 2009 it was 45% with a $3.5 million exemption.
You might guess that Congress will act and put something in retroactively. But, you could be wrong. Several billionaires have died this year and if Congress tries to do that the estates will tie it up in court for years. They have the money and the horsepower to do that.
So here we go. The Obama administration doesn’t care enough about voters to do the work they are paid to do. It was their job to put a new law into action before January 1, 2010 so estate planners and people who are in poor health can pick choices. The big struggle for some was to stay alive until 1-1-10 and now it will be to die before 1-1-11.
We aren’t talking about a huge number of people who will be impacted by this in 2010. But, with no future plans all estate planning is a jump ball.
The onerous confiscatory 55% really hurts small businessmen and farmers. To pay the tax bill, the heirs have to sell the business or the farm. Isn’t his where the jobs problems lie now?
Typically, the President and his fellow Democrats are too fixated on cap and trade, destroying the financial markets, ignoring illegal immigration, watching BP try to plug the leak, and campaigning for fall elections to address this issue.
Just another reason to empty the barrel. Let’s put people in office who can do what we pay them to do.
