Death Tax Wrap-up

Last week the House passed the Permanent Estate Tax Relief Act (HR 5638), 269-156. The Senate read the bill on Monday for a second time and placed it on its legislative calendar.

The House Ways and Means Committee details the bill’s tax relief provisions.

"Hard working Americans should be able to pass on their homes and businesses to their loved ones without the federal government taking an additional cut,” says Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Bloomberg’s Ryan Donmoyer discusses different perspectives on the legislation. Many believe that the bill is a movement in the right direction to relieve all Americans from an unnecessary and archaic law, while others view it as the Paris Hilton Act, affecting only the wealthiest of taxpayers.

Cato's Chris Edwards responds to those who believe that repeal will only benefit the wealthy.

More information on the death tax is available from the heroic American Family Business Institute, which exists solely to eliminate the death tax.