Posted on 12/03/2009 1:30:51 PM PST by markomalley
The House voted Thursday to permanently extend a 45 percent inheritance tax on estates larger than $3.5 million, canceling a one-year repeal of the tax set to begin next month. A similar effort is afoot in the Senate, but the health care debate there could preclude action on the estate tax before Congress breaks later this month for holidays. There are also disagreements among senators over the tax rate and the size of estates that should be exempt, further clouding the bill's prospects.
Lawmakers, however, don't want to delay action until next year because they are wary of enacting retroactive tax changes.
Under the House bill, estates smaller than $3.5 million would continue to be exempt from the tax. Married couples, with a little estate planning, could exempt a total of $7 million. That leaves less than 1 percent of all estates subject to the tax.
The bill passed by a 225-200 vote, with all Republicans opposed. Majority Democrats argued that a permanent tax rate makes it easier for families and small business owners to do estate planning, noting that fewer than 1 percent of all estates are subject to the tax.
"In America, it's not a sin to be rich nor is it a crime to die rich," said Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo. "This bill gives our nation's wealthiest families the ability to know exactly what their obligation to the nation that fostered their wealth will be, and it is fair and it is just."
(snip)
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, likened the estate tax to stealing from the dead.
"After someone dies and someone comes in and steals from them, we consider that in most society reprehensible," said Gohmert, a former judge. "I have sentenced people personally to prison for doing that."
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Yea - I think it’s a RINO conspiracy. If the RINOs vote with the Republicans 70% of the time (whereas the even the most conservative Democrats vote with the Republicans maybe 25% of the time), the RINOs will almost look like Republicans...thereby throwing us off-balance and making us believe that is a difference between the parties.
.
But we’re not fooled.
And it spoils our fun of bashing RINOs. We much prefer RINOS NEVER vote Republican. Then it’s justification for our hysteria.
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