Could it be that some movement finally happening in the House of Representatives with regard to the estate tax?

It looks like it may be, if we are to believe this recent article in Bloomberg Business Week. According to the article, the House Ways and Means Committee has plans to begin discussions in April (after the spring break) about former President George W. Bush’s tax cuts benefiting the middle class.

Of special interest to our clients is the section about the estate tax, found at the bottom of the article:

“…The committee would begin work to retroactively reinstate a federal tax on multimillion-dollar estates that expired Dec. 31. The legislation would likely seek an extension of a 2009 law, which applied a 45 percent tax rate on the value of estates that exceeded $3.5 million per individual… One possibility being considered… would let heirs choose to pay the capital gains tax that replaced the estate levy if that is more beneficial.”

Stay tuned and watch our Blog for further developments.