One of the biggest questions concerning estate planning right now, is whether Donald Trump will carry out his campaign promise to eliminate the estate tax and whether or not he should.
The estate tax is a one of those hot button issues over which political parties are sharply divided. While campaigning for the presidency, Donald Trump repeatedly said he would eliminate the tax. His is a position that most Republicans in Congress share. Now that Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have the power to do away with the estate tax, the question becomes whether they will actually do so.
Financial Advisor addressed that question in "Death to the Death Tax?"
“I think there’s a chance he [Trump] will repeal the whole thing,” said tax attorney Martin Shenkman, whose namesake firm in Jersey City, N.J., and New York City focuses on estate and tax planning for high-net-worth individuals, closely held businesses and real estate professionals.
Shenkman also said there’s speculation about abolishing the gift and generation-skipping taxes. He pointed out that, while these taxes do not raise a lot of revenue, they were at one time intended to minimize the wealth-concentration in our country. Whether or not they still serve this social purpose, or should, is up for debate.
With all of this uncertainty, no one can predict the final outcome, but, as Shenkman said, “There’s no reason to stop planning because of this uncertainty, if the end result of the planning is to get assets in a better place than they are now regardless of the tax.”
Reference: Financial Advisor (January 3, 2017) "Death to the Death Tax?"
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