Saturday, December 04, 2010

Baucus on Wealth Transfer

Baucus Seeks to Stop Wealthy From Year-End Transfer of Assets

Sen. Max Baucus has introduced a proposal intended to stop wealthy taxpayers from transferring assets to family members before the end of the year and pay less in gift taxes than the levy they would face after they die.

The Senate will vote Saturday. Under the proposal, the existing 35 percent gift tax would increase to 45 percent for transfer until the end of the year. It becomes law as part of a compromise to extend Bush-era tax cuts that expire Dec. 31, would remove an incentive to pass along fortunes to children and grandchildren before year-end to lock in a historically low gift tax rate.