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Mar 26, 2015
The House Ways and Means Committee approved legislation on Wednesday to repeal the estate tax. The full House is expected to vote on the bill the week of April 13. The bill passed the committee on a straight party line vote, and while it is expected to also be passed by the full House, it is not likely to pass the Senate and would be opposed by the President.
Democrats argued that repealing the tax would benefit only wealthy taxpayers. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that about 5,000 households would be impacted per year and the legislation would cost the federal government $269 billion over the next decade. The impact of the estate tax was reduced in 2011 when Congress increased the exemption to $5 million.
