Permanent Estate Tax Reform Proposed
It’s time to take decisive action on the estate tax, and provide the relief that Arkansas’s forest owners are desperately seeking. Tree Farmers are frequently forced to choose between their forest management objectives and the need to pay their estate tax liability. The tax code shouldn’t be forcing forest landowners who want to be good stewards of the land to make land management decisions that aren’t consistent with good forestry.
Uncertainty in the estate tax law has caused incredible difficulties for the families of foresters, farmers and small business owners alike, which is why I have fought for a quick resolution to the issue that is both permanent and fair.
Our bi-partisan proposal provides an election for deceased taxpayers to either retain this year’s estate tax rate, which is zero percent with “carry over basis,” or file under the provisions of the new proposal. If Congress does not act this year, the federal estate tax is scheduled to increase to 55 percent with only a $1 million exemption at the beginning of 2011.
We’ve introduced a similar measure before that received broad bipartisan support and was successfully added to the non-binding congressional budget resolution. Now it’s time for Congress to provide permanent, fair reform for the estate tax, and to do so in a way that rewards, rather than punishes, the investments family forest owners have made in our sustainable private forests.
