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How many Pubs crossed? What was the vote breakdown?
A non-registered version of the story: House votes to extend tax on wealthy estates
Here is the roll call: Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009
Dem = 225 | Rep = 200; 26 Dems crossed to Nay; No Republicans voted Yea.
House votes to make current estate tax permanent
By Ben Pershing
The House approved Thursday a measure making the current estate tax rate permanent, overcoming the objections of an unusual coalition of liberal and conservative critics.
The bill passed, 225 to 200, with 26 Democrats joining all Republicans present to vote no. It would make permanent the current estate tax rate of 45 percent, with an exemption of $3.5 million per individual. If Congress does not act, the estate tax would disappear altogether in 2010, then return in 2011 under the higher rates — 55 percent and a $1 million exemption — that existed before President George W. Bush took office.
The Senate faces a Dec. 31 deadline to address the issue, but it’s not clear when that chamber will find the time to do so in the midst of its marathon health-care debate. It’s also unclear whether the House’s approach on the estate tax could garner the 60 votes necessary to move forward in the Senate.
Some Democrats in both chambers would prefer to see higher estate tax rates, arguing that the pre-2001 levels were fair and provided the government with much-needed funds. Making the current rates permanent will take a bite out of the federal treasury, with the government estimated to lose $234 billion in revenue over the next 10 years.
Most Republicans, meanwhile, don’t want any estate tax at all, opposing the concept on philosophical grounds.
“Death should not be a taxable event,” said Rep. Dave Camp (Mich.), the top Republican on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. “Death should not force the sale of family farms or the dissolution of small businesses. The fear of death should not be a reason for Americans to hire a battery of accountants and lawyers to find legal ways to reduce the bite of the estate tax.”
While Republicans often invoked the specter of distressed farmers and business owners Thursday, Democrats suggested the GOP was trying to mask their true desire to shield the wealthiest Americans from taxation.
“Abolishing the estate tax would add billions and billions to our deficit — and while a small number of wealthy families would benefit, the growth of our economy as a whole would suffer,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
The current rates leave roughly 0.2 percent of all estates subject to taxation in 2009, according to the Tax Policy Center, a think tank. Since the $3.5 million per-person exemption is not indexed for inflation, that percentage will gradually increase over time.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that he had met with House leaders to figure out a way forward on the estate tax and other end-of-session priorities. Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) are pushing a measure that would reduce the estate tax rate to 35 percent, with an exemption of $5 million per individual.