On November 20, 2010, the Wall Street Journal published How to Beat the Tax That Won't Die, by Laura Saunders. This article discusses how the “tax code is giving taxpayers an incentive not to live but to die.” It also provides a few estate planning strategies. The following insight about the state of estate tax reform is informative:
Resolution is nowhere in sight, although Congress is expected to raise the 2011 exemption at some point. The Bush tax-cut extension has lawmakers so tied up that they have pushed the estate tax to a back burner. According to BNA's Daily Tax Report, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) said on Nov. 16, "We're barely talking about it, let alone ready to make a decision."
