Permanent Estate Tax Relief Act of 2006
Latest action. Read the second time. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 496.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Permanent Estate Tax Relief Act of 2006 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to restore the unified estate and gift tax exclusion and increase the exclusion amount to $5 million beginning in 2010. Adjusts such exclusion amount for inflation after 2010.
Lowers the estate tax rate to equal the current long-term capital gains tax rate (i.e., 15% through 2010) for taxable estates up to $25 million and to twice such tax rate for estates of $25 million or more, beginning in 2010.
Repeals after 2009 the estate tax deduction for estate, inheritance, legacy, or succession taxes paid to states.
Provides that the general termination date of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) (i.e., December 31, 2010) shall not apply to estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax provisions of EGTRRA which are not amended by this Act.
Repeals provisions of EGTRRA relating to carryover basis of estate property to allow heirs to use a date-of-death fair market value for such property after 2009.
Allows a surviving spouse to claim any unused portion of a deceased spouse's estate or gift tax exclusion amount.
Allows a taxpayer election to deduct 60% of the lesser of qualified timber gain or net capital gain for a taxable year. Allows such deduction to taxpayers who do not itemize deductions. Terminates such deduction after 2008.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House without amendment" stage on June 22, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 26, 2006: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 496.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
WILLIAM THOMAS (R-CA) introduced it on June 19, 2006, and 51 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 50 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 19, 2006, 7388 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7381 days ago, on June 26, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers