[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 76 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 76

 To phase-out and repeal the Federal estate and gift taxes and the tax 
                   on generation-skipping transfers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 19, 1999

    Mr. Lugar (for himself, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Roberts, and Mr. Helms) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                          Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To phase-out and repeal the Federal estate and gift taxes and the tax 
                   on generation-skipping transfers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Estate and Gift Tax Phase-Out Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The economy of the United States cannot achieve strong, 
        sustained growth without adequate levels of savings to fuel 
        productive activity. Inadequate savings have been shown to lead 
        to lower productivity, stagnating wages, and reduced standards 
        of living.
            (2) Savings levels in the United States have steadily 
        declined over the past 25 years, and have lagged behind the 
        industrialized trading partners of the United States.
            (3) These anemic savings levels have contributed to the 
        country's long-term downward trend in real economic growth, 
        which averaged close to 3.5 percent over the last 100 years but 
        has slowed to 2.4 percent over the past quarter century.
            (4) Repealing the estate and gift tax would contribute to 
        the goals of expanding savings and investment, boosting 
        entrepreneurial activity, and expanding economic growth.
            (5) Abolishing the estate tax would restore a measure of 
        fairness to the Federal tax system. Families should be able to 
        pass on the fruits of labor to the next generation without 
        realizing a taxable event.
            (6) Abolishing the estate tax would benefit the 
        preservation of family farms. Nearly 95 percent of farms and 
        ranches are owned by sole proprietors or family partnerships, 
        subjecting most of this property to estate taxes upon the death 
        of the owner. Due to the capital intensive nature of farming 
        and its low return on investment, farmers are 15 times more 
        likely to be subject to estate taxes than other Americans.

SEC. 3. PHASE-OUT OF ESTATE AND GIFT TAXES THROUGH INCREASE IN UNIFIED 
              ESTATE AND GIFT TAX CREDIT.

    (a) In General.--The table in section 2010(c) of the Internal 
Revenue Code (relating to applicable credit amount) is amended to read 
as follows:

        ``In the case of estates of decedents
                                                         The applicable
          dying, and gifts made, during:
                                                   exclusion amount is:
                  2000...............................       $1,000,000 
                  2001...............................       $1,500,000 
                  2002...............................       $2,000,000 
                  2003...............................       $2,500,000 
                  2004...............................    $5,000,000.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to the estates of decedents dying, and gifts made, after December 31, 
1997.

SEC. 4. REPEAL OF FEDERAL TRANSFER TAXES.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
repealed.
    (b) Effective Date.--The repeal made by subsection (a) shall apply 
to the estates of decedents dying, and gifts and generation-skipping 
transfers made, after December 31, 2004.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Changes.--The Secretary of the 
Treasury or the Secretary's delegate shall not later than 90 days after 
the effective date of this section, submit to the Committee on Ways and 
Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of 
the Senate a draft of any technical and conforming changes in the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which are necessary to reflect throughout 
such Code the changes in the substantive provisions of law made by this 
Act.
                                 <all>