January 2012 marks the beginning of the second and final year of a political compromise that established a unified federal estate and gift tax with a $5 million exemption and a 35 percent top rate. If no new law is passed, the estate tax in 2013 will revert to its pre-2001 status with a $1 million exemption and 55 percent top rate. This session will use this state of flux as an opportunity to examine some fundamental questions facing all tax and trusts and estates scholars: (1) Should we tax inherited wealth? (2) If so, should we retain the estate tax or instead replace it with an inheritance tax or, alternatively, impose the income tax on gifts and inheritances by repealing section 102? and (3) If we do not replace the estate tax, what changes should we make within the current estate tax system? A half hour will be devoted to each question, with scholars providing brief contrasting opinions in a moderated format based on their past and current research.
Business Meeting of Section on Taxation at Program Conclusion.
Business Meeting of Section on Trusts and Estate at Program Conclusion.