The estate tax was here. Then it was gone. Now it's back. And it's about to become much bigger next year.
Defining "rich" is always subjective.
Pretty much everyone in Washington agrees that the tax code is complicated, inefficient and -- in general -- a major drag.
Between slumping prices and low mortgage rates, it's a good time to look for real estate bargains. But thanks to tightened lending standards, legions of young would-be homebuyers aren't exactly in a position to take advantage of the opportunity. That's where their parents come in: One in three first-time buyers received either a gift or a loan from their families to help buy a home in 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Maybe the best person to take on issue number one -- the economy -- should be an economist?
Rick Perry has said he wants to scrap the tax code and make taxes simpler.
Republicans react to President Obama's proposed tax surcharge dubbed the "Buffett Rule." CNN's Kate Bolduan reports.
Our government is utterly broke. There are signs everywhere one looks. Social Security can no longer afford to send us our annual benefit statements. The House can no longer afford its congressional pages. The Pentagon can no longer afford the pension and health care benefits of retired service members. NASA is no longer planning a manned mission to Mars.
Much was made of last year's temporary repeal of the estate tax. Thanks to legislation passed in 2001, the tax on money left to heirs fell from a top rate of 45% in 2009 to 0% in 2010. That one-year free pass has been withdrawn: The tax was reinstated on Dec. 17 in a deal between Republicans and the White House. For the next two years the tax will return with a much higher exemption level ($5 million for individuals, $10 million for couples) than before and a lower rate (35%) than just about anyone expected.
The super-rich got an early Christmas gift in the $858 billion tax package that President Obama signed into law on Friday. On top of a two-year extension of Bush-era income tax rates, the wealthiest Americans dodged an estate tax that was set to jump up from zero to 55% for individuals worth more than $1 million. Instead, under a deal Senate Republicans negotiated with the White House, individuals can exempt estates up to $5 million and pay 35% beyond that. The exemption for couples is $10 million.
President Barack Obama signed an $858 billion tax bill into law Friday, saying, "this is progress, and that's what (the American people) sent us here to achieve."
President Obama credits a bipartisan effort for tax legislation that extends Bush-era tax cuts.
Now that President Obama has signed the Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2010, taxpayers will have some certainty about their tax situation, if only for the next 24 months.
President Obama encourages the House of Representatives to act quickly on his tax cut proposal.
Both President Obama and Sen. John McCain seem to have contradicted themselves in their recent talk on tax cut plans.
The Senate approved a controversial $858 billion tax cut package Wednesday, overwhelmingly voting to extend the Bush-era tax reductions despite a series of objections from both the left and the right.
Senators made speeches into the evening Tuesday on the tax and benefits package negotiated by President Barack Obama and Republican leaders, while House Democrats argued about whether they will change the measure after expected Senate approval.
CNN's Candy Crowley asks White House senior adviser David Axelrod if Congress will pass tax extensions this week.
The hotly contested tax deal negotiated by President Barack Obama and Republican leaders cleared a key Senate procedural hurdle Monday, with both parties strongly supporting a motion to end debate on the measure.
House Democrats will allow a vote on the tax compromise reached by President Barack Obama and Republicans but will try to change the deal, especially an estate tax provision they believe is beneficial to the wealthy, one of their leaders said Sunday.
Howard Kurtz talks to Matt Lewis, Jon Aravosis and Julie Mason about liberal pundit reaction to the proposed tax deal.
House Democrats voted Thursday against considering the tax package that President Barack Obama negotiated with Republicans, raising questions over the president's influence in his own party.
House Democrats vented their frustrations with President Barack Obama's tax proposal at a closed-door meeting Tuesday night, with rank-and-file members slamming the White House for leaving House Democrats out of final negotiations, and agreeing too quickly to a GOP proposal on the estate tax.
CNN's John King takes a look at the new developments regarding the tax deal framework announced by President Obama.
President Barack Obama's top aides on Wednesday defended the tax plan hammered out with Republican leaders, saying Democrats are coming around to the reality that the agreement contains plenty of good things despite proposals they dislike.
If members of Congress were taking a tax policy course, chances are good they'd get an "F."
Question: Since Congress hasn't yet reinstated the estate tax, what are the tax rules for valuing assets that you inherit in 2010? -- Jack Pickering, La Habra, Calif.
No matter what happens on Tuesday, Congress will return to Capitol Hill on Nov. 15 for a lame-duck session marked by a long roster of unfinished business.
There's one thing Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul and his Democratic opponent Jack Conway have in common: They're both finished talking about "Aqua Buddha."
It's official: Now that resolution on the Bush tax cuts has been postponed until after the Nov. 2 mid-term elections, lawmakers have punted nearly every major time-sensitive tax issue until the end of the year.
Want a hot tip about how to make a financial killing this year?
First it was Greenspan. Now one by one, other elders of the economy are speaking out against deficits, and they're making the surprising argument for higher taxes.
Some high-profile, high net-worth folks on Wednesday called on Congress to impose a "strong" estate tax going forward.
CNNMoney: Estate tax in limboupdated: Fri Jun 18 2010 10:08:00
Estate planning attorneys may worry that their persistent headaches are a sign of something more serious. But once they remember what they do for a living, the headaches start to make perfect sense.
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