What's In the Senate Tax Bill
Earlier this week we discussed the provisions of the proposed tax legislation that the Senate is in the process of passing and sending to the House of Representatives. Throughout last week and the weekend, there was much discussion by and surrounding the House Democratic caucus seeking to hold up the tax bill because of the estate tax provisions, in particular. Now it appears that even that slight opposition to the proposed tax bill is fading away .
There are many provisions in the Senate bill that deal with tax issues other than pure estate tax and gift tax planning issues, that may also impact people who are doing estate planning. You can view the entire 74 pages of the proposed Senate bill here . The Senate has also posted a "Summary" of the changes that you can find here.
Included in the bill is Temporay Extensions of Tax Relief, extending the Bush era tax cuts for income taxes at all levels, extending the current capital gains and dividends rates, the child tax credit, the marriage penalty relief and various incentives for families and children, earned income tax credits and education incentives. Perhaps most importantly for the middle-class taxpayer is the temprary relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) that would have hit a substantial part of the population in 2011 but for the extension. There are temporary extensions of other tax credits and expiring provisions.
Perhaps two of the most signficant provisions of the tax bill that constitute what many are calling "stimulus" provisions are those dealing with the extension of unemployment benefits for one year and the Temporay Employee Payroll Tax Cut, also for one year. That last provision will reduce the employee's share of payroll taxes by 2% for the entire year. That will clearly have a meaningful stimulus effect equivalent to a 2% pay increase for all employed individuals.
There are additional measures providing for tax relief to small business owners and those who invest in research and development.
If you're employed, are a small business owner, or file a Federal income tax return, the Senate Summary is worthwhile reading.
There are many provisions in the Senate bill that deal with tax issues other than pure estate tax and gift tax planning issues, that may also impact people who are doing estate planning. You can view the entire 74 pages of the proposed Senate bill here . The Senate has also posted a "Summary" of the changes that you can find here.
Included in the bill is Temporay Extensions of Tax Relief, extending the Bush era tax cuts for income taxes at all levels, extending the current capital gains and dividends rates, the child tax credit, the marriage penalty relief and various incentives for families and children, earned income tax credits and education incentives. Perhaps most importantly for the middle-class taxpayer is the temprary relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) that would have hit a substantial part of the population in 2011 but for the extension. There are temporary extensions of other tax credits and expiring provisions.
Perhaps two of the most signficant provisions of the tax bill that constitute what many are calling "stimulus" provisions are those dealing with the extension of unemployment benefits for one year and the Temporay Employee Payroll Tax Cut, also for one year. That last provision will reduce the employee's share of payroll taxes by 2% for the entire year. That will clearly have a meaningful stimulus effect equivalent to a 2% pay increase for all employed individuals.
There are additional measures providing for tax relief to small business owners and those who invest in research and development.
If you're employed, are a small business owner, or file a Federal income tax return, the Senate Summary is worthwhile reading.
Posted by Randy Coleman at 12/15/2010 1:08 PM 
Categories: Income Taxes, Gift Tax, Family Business, estate tax, Business Owners, estate planning
Tags: business owners estate tax gift tax income tax planning
Categories: Income Taxes, Gift Tax, Family Business, estate tax, Business Owners, estate planning
Tags: business owners estate tax gift tax income tax planning
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