Death tax repeal gets new life
When the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA 2001) was signed into law by President Bush, many expected that years of fighting over a permanent repeal of the federal estate tax would finally be over. Under EGTRRA 2001, the personal exemption available under the estate tax increased to $3.5 million in 2009 with a temporary repeal for 2010. The expectation was that some form of compromise bill would take effect, boosting the personal exemption to between $3.5 million and $5 million. That didn't happen.
Just four years after EGTRRA 2001 passed, the idea of complete repeal was back in the news. Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) was at the forefront of the movement, arguing that the federal estate tax destroyed small businesses. In a dramatic speech on the Senate floor, he argued:
If you are an enterprising entrepreneur who has worked hard to grow a family business or to keep and maintain that family farm, your spouse and children can expect to hear the knock of the tax man right after the Grim Reaper.
