In July 2015, Congress passed the "Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015" ("Act"). Included as part of that act was a provision that permanently changed the long standing due dates for filing various federal income and other tax returns. The provision was effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2015, and applies to calendar year taxpayers for the first time beginning with the 2017 filing season.
Comparison of the Trump Administration Tax Plan and the House of Representatives Republican Blueprint for Tax Reform
With the Donald Trump Administration winning the U.S. Presidency and the Republican Party holding the majority of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, the likelihood of significant tax legislation being passed in the near future has greatly increased. Under the U.S. Constitution, tax legislation generally begins in the U.S. House of Representatives and then is modified in several stages throughout the legislative process before becoming law.
Therefore, an examination of potential proposals for tax reform that have been published by the House Republicans and the Trump administration give an indication of what provisions may comprise future tax law. A comparison of the Trump Administration's proposed tax plan and the House Republicans "Blueprint for Tax Reform" published in June 2016 is provided in the following discussion:
Impact of the Presidential Election on Federal Estate and Gift Tax Planning
Under current federal tax law, the federal estate tax applies to estates valued at more than $5.49 million for individuals or more than $10.98 million for married couples who elect to establish "portability".
Since the election of Donald Trump, there have been many predictions and opinions about the future status of federal estate and gift tax law. Predictions range from immediate repeal to no change at all due to "the politics of repeal." However, the Trump Administration and many Republican lawmakers are on record as calling for repeal of what they refer to as the "death tax". Specifically, the Donald Trump website provides:
"The Trump Plan will repeal the death tax, but capital gains held until death and valued over $10 million will be subject to tax to exempt small businesses and family farms. To prevent abuse, contributions of appreciated assets into a private charity established by the decedent or the decedent's relatives will be disallowed."
