Cut the estate and gift tax and make the higher exemption permanent
What the document says“The estate and gift tax should be reduced to no higher than 20 percent”
The chapter also asks that the 2017 law's temporary rise in the exemption, from $5.5 million to $12.9 million adjusted for inflation, be made permanent. It groups this with proposals to raise the business loss limitation to at least $500,000, allow full carryforward of net operating losses, and eliminate the net investment income surtax and the base erosion anti-abuse tax.
What the document actually says“The estate and gift tax should be reduced to no higher than 20 percent”
Cut the tax on money left when someone dies. Take it to 20 percent at most.
When a rich person dies, some of the estate is taxed. The book says that rate should fall. It also wants more of an estate left untaxed.
To provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14
2025-07-04 · 139 Stat. 72
Section 70106 of the 2025 tax law strikes $5,000,000 from the estate and gift tax exemption in section 2010(c)(3) and inserts $15,000,000, moves the inflation measuring year to 2025, and strikes the subparagraph that would have ended the higher exemption after 2025, so the increase no longer expires. It applies to deaths and gifts after December 31, 2025. Where the fit breaks down: the chapter also asks that the tax itself be cut to no higher than 20 percent, and the law leaves the rate schedule untouched. This section reaches only the exemption, not the other items the chapter groups with the request.
The 2025 tax law raises the amount an estate can pass on tax free. It goes from $5 million to $15 million, and that rise no longer ends. But the chapter also asked that the tax rate drop to 20 percent or less. The law leaves the rates alone.