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.

Last week the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center released data on how different options for reforming the estate tax would affect estate tax liablities through 2015. The study looks at five reform options, each with slightly different exemption levels and taxation rates. Click here to see the chart.

House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) spoke about the estate tax yesterday, saying that he would be willing to settle for less than full repeal of the estate tax. "If in fact you're not able to repeal it, the next best thing is certainty," he said.

Thomas also pointed out that his reconciliation tax package may fall well below the $70 billion mark recently laid out in the Congressional budget resolution. $70 billion is the amount the Senate decided upon in their budget plan; the House had settled on a much lower figure of $45 billion. Thomas once again called the tax reconciliation numbers "a ceiling."