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Thursday, June 01, 2006
Baucus' Estate Tax Reform Plan
Last week Sen. Max Baucus apparently began circulating a reform plan to counter Sen. Kyl's proposal, which will most likely be offered up next week after a vote on estate tax repeal. Baucus' counteroffer includes a graduated tax rate structure, setting rates at 15, 25, and 35 percent depending on the size of the estate. Baucus' offer, which would likely retain more of the revenue than Kyl's plan, would still likely prove to be insufficient in both keeping the tax code truly progressive and raising enough revenue to fund national priorities. A recent article in the Washington Post, Estate Tax Lunacy, notes that Baucus' plan would deplete revenue by only $500 billion to $600 billion during the decade, which "is a lot of money to drain from public coffers just when boomers are going onto Social Security and Medicare and the number of employers providing health insurance."
Also, Rep. Henry Waxman's staff has put out a report the impact that estate tax repeal would have on the families of the senior executives for the major oil companies. That can be found here.
If you're interested in a religious take on estate tax repeal (and how morally outrageous it would be) check out Jim Wallis' most recent column on the Estate Tax, "To Protect the Common Good."
Posted by Becky Lewis
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