Effort to Repeal Estate Tax Said to Be Faltering

[MikeNearMcChord]

By Janet Hook, Times Staff Writer
June 4, 2006

A decade-long drive to permanently repeal the estate tax is about to come to a head, but proponents are finding it surprisingly difficult to get their political football into the end zone.

The repeal proposal may be an indirect casualty of Hurricane Katrina, which forced Senate leaders to postpone a vote on the plan in September, when hopes it would pass were high.

-snip-
Many Republicans believed that coalition was on the brink of prevailing in September before Senate leaders postponed action to focus on responding to Hurricane Katrina — and to avoid the politically damaging image of giving tax breaks to the wealthy while hurricane victims faced financial ruin.

Since then, even some Republicans acknowledge, the momentum for estate tax repeal has been undercut as spending for the Iraq war and Katrina recovery has climbed. Several senators who once backed the repeal now say they are less inclined to, citing concern about its cost.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-estatetax4jun04,0,6852939.story?coll=la-home-nation

[flyarm]

1. is there a link??? thanks!! n/t

[MikeNearMcChord]

3. Oops My Bad!

I was so excited to post this I forgot. Mea Culpa
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-estatetax4jun04,0,6852939.story?coll=la-home-nation

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. poor Paris...

she'll be heartbroken.

:evilgrin:

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Here's the real problem the republicans are trying to fix:

In the tax year of 2010, there will be no estate tax in any amount for anyone. However on the stroke of midnight January 1, 2011, it goes back up to pre-2001, something like 30-something percent.

So here's the problem: If an Daddy Warbucks dies in the wrong year, the heirs have to pay estate taxes and feel cheated.

Therefore, republicans, understanding human nature in themselves, know that there will be a lot of unexplained deaths during 2010 unless they fix the problem they created by making 2010 last forever to save lives. Hence the move to make the repeal permanent.