The following article by Heather Long was posted on the Washington Post website November 5, 2017:
House Republican leaders on Nov. 2 proposed legislation that would overhaul the U.S. tax code. Here’s what you need to know about it. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)
More than 3,000 Americans would not have to pay the estate tax next year if the Republican tax bill is passed, a 64 percent reduction from the 5,000 people who would pay under current law, according to Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation — one of the most glaring ways the proposed legislation benefits a small number of wealthy Americans.
Under current law, Americans can pass along homes, land, stocks or other assets worth up to $5.49 million without paying any estate or gift tax. Estates worth more than that are subject to a 40 percent tax. The House GOP bill would double the threshold to $11.2 million in 2018 and then do away with the tax entirely in 2024. For 2018, that means an estimated 3,200 people would not have to pay. Continue reading “3,200 wealthy individuals wouldn’t pay estate tax next year under GOP plan”