Estate Tax Repeal Defeated Again (Who knew they were voting?)

Category: Estate and Inheritance Tax

Last night the US Senate again addressed the total repeal of the estate tax.

First question - why all the silence? Where was the press push and fanfare of the last vote attempt? Where was the opportunity for public debate and communication with representatives before the vote? I could not have been more surprised this morning that total repeal of the estate tax had been brouhght to a vote again.

Democrates in the Senate filibustered the vote to totally repeal the estate tax, in the Senate Republicans again fell shy of the 60 needed to break the filibuster. The vote was 57-41.

What's next? Putting Estate Tax Repeal/Reform into a revised Pensions Law. According to the Office of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid:

WASHINGTON, July 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- With reports that Republicans are working to sneak billions of dollars in estate tax giveaways into the Pensions Conference Report, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid released the following statement:

"For over four months, American workers, retirees and businesses have been waiting patiently for the Republican Congress to deliver a pensions bill that will provide retirement security to millions of Americans. Now, instead of delivering those workers a clean bill, Republicans are desperately trying to satisfy a privileged few by providing them hundreds of billions in additional estate tax breaks. Fiscally irresponsible estate tax giveaways have been rejected by the Senate before and will be rejected again. We need a Congress that works for all Americans, not one that abuses the system to satisfy the special interests. I hope my Republican colleagues will move in a new direction by dropping the estate tax giveaway so we can quickly pass the pensions conference report. It is time to put American workers before special interests."