Dems kill effort to cut taxes on estates

[wicket]

LINK

Senate Democrats killed a move to cut taxes on large estates as a $2.9 trillion Democratic budget outline neared a final vote Friday.

The 51-48 vote came on an amendment by Sen. Jon Kyl (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., to erase taxes on estates worth up to $5 million and impose a 35 percent top rate on larger estates, beginning in 2011.

The current top rate is 45 percent but unless Congress acts the estate tax will revert to 2001 levels — a $1 million exemption and 55 percent top rate — at the end of 2010.

Kyl's amendment mirrors a plan popular with moderate Democrats.

But Democrats defeated Kyl's amendment because it would have swelled the deficit by $16 billion in 2012 — the year that the Democrats' budget seeks to achieve balance.

Before the vote, moderate Democrats offered a comparable estate tax plan, but called for the reductions to be paid for with tax increases elsewhere in the code. It was defeated by a 74-25 vote, but gave Democrats such as Blanche Lincoln (news, bio, voting record) of Arkansas and Ben Nelson (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska political cover to oppose the GOP amendment.

[Mass]

1. I was happy to see that the Nelson amendment was defeated as well.

There are things way more important than cutting for estate taxes.

[Gold Metal Flake]

2. See my sig.

[wicket]

3. Perfect!

:thumbsup:

[wicket]

4. kick

:kick: