The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a bill to provide gift tax certainty to individuals who make gifts to 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, 501(c)(5) labor unions, and 501(c)(6) trade associations. In a related move, the House also passed a bill to repeal the federal estate tax (H.R. 1105, the “Death Tax Repeal Act”).
Recently, the House of Representatives passed, with broad bipartisan support, the Fair Treatment for All Gifts Act and the Death Tax Repeal Act as reported by The National Law Review in an article titled “Gift Tax Certainty at Last? re: H.R. 1104.”
Lawmakers have grown increasingly wary about how the gift and estate taxes operate to cause strain on estates of farmers, small business owners and others. This is especially a concern given President Obama’s new proposals for an increased capital gains tax and for eliminating the step-up basis for capital gains on death.