[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3049 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3049

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make the capital gains 
   and dividends rate permanent and to provide estate tax relief and 
                    reform, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2008

 Mr. Alexander introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make the capital gains 
   and dividends rate permanent and to provide estate tax relief and 
                    reform, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. CAPITAL GAINS AND DIVIDENDS RATE MADE PERMANENT.

    The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 is 
amended by striking section 303.

SEC. 2. ESTATE TAX RELIEF AND REFORM AFTER 2009.

    (a) Restoration of Unified Credit Against Gift Tax.--Paragraph (1) 
of section 2505(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 
general rule for unified credit against gift tax), after the 
application of subsection (f), is amended by striking ``(determined as 
if the applicable exclusion amount were $1,000,000)''.
    (b) Exclusion Equivalent of Unified Credit Equal to $3,500,000.--
Subsection (c) of section 2010 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(relating to unified credit against estate tax) is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(c) Applicable Credit Amount.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the 
        applicable credit amount is the amount of the tentative tax 
        which would be determined under section 2001(c) if the amount 
        with respect to which such tentative tax is to be computed were 
        equal to the applicable exclusion amount.
            ``(2) Applicable exclusion amount.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For purposes of this subsection, 
                the applicable exclusion amount is $3,500,000.
                    ``(B) Inflation adjustment.--In the case of any 
                decedent dying in a calendar year after 2009, the 
                $3,500,000 amount in subparagraph (A) shall be 
                increased by an amount equal to--
                            ``(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by
                            ``(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment 
                        determined under section 1(f)(3) for such 
                        calendar year by substituting `calendar year 
                        2008' for `calendar year 1992' in subparagraph 
                        (B) thereof.
                If any amount as adjusted under the preceding sentence 
                is not a multiple of $10,000, such amount shall be 
                rounded to the nearest multiple of $10,000.''.
    (c) Flat Estate and Gift Tax Rates.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (c) of section 2001 of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to imposition and rate 
        of tax) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Tentative Tax.--The tentative tax is 15 percent of the amount 
with respect to which the tentative tax is to be computed.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2102(b) of 
                such Code are amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) In general.--A credit in an amount that would be 
        determined under section 2010 as the applicable credit amount 
        if the applicable exclusion amount were $60,000 shall be 
        allowed against the tax imposed by section 2101.
            ``(2) Residents of possessions of the united states.--In 
        the case of a decedent who is considered to be a `nonresident 
        not a citizen of the United States' under section 2209, the 
        credit allowed under this subsection shall not be less than the 
        proportion of the amount that would be determined under section 
        2010 as the applicable credit amount if the applicable 
        exclusion amount were $175,000 which the value of that part of 
        the decedent's gross estate which at the time of the decedent's 
        death is situated in the United States bears to the value of 
        the decedent's entire gross estate, wherever situated.''.
                    (B) Section 2502(a) of such Code (relating to 
                computation of tax), after the application of 
                subsection (f), is amended by adding at the end the 
                following flush sentence:
``In computing the tentative tax under section 2001(c) for purposes of 
this subsection, `the last day of the calendar year in which the gift 
was made' shall be substituted for `the date of the decedent's death' 
each place it appears in such section.''.
    (d) Modifications of Estate and Gift Taxes To Reflect Differences 
in Unified Credit Resulting From Different Tax Rates.--
            (1) Estate tax.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 2001(b)(2) of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to computation of tax) 
                is amended by striking ``if the provisions of 
                subsection (c) (as in effect at the decedent's death)'' 
                and inserting ``if the modifications described in 
                subsection (g)''.
                    (B) Modifications.--Section 2001 of such Code is 
                amended by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(g) Modifications to Gift Tax Payable To Reflect Different Tax 
Rates.--For purposes of applying subsection (b)(2) with respect to 1 or 
more gifts, the rates of tax under subsection (c) in effect at the 
decedent's death shall, in lieu of the rates of tax in effect at the 
time of such gifts, be used both to compute--
            ``(1) the tax imposed by chapter 12 with respect to such 
        gifts, and
            ``(2) the credit allowed against such tax under section 
        2505, including in computing--
                    ``(A) the applicable credit amount under section 
                2505(a)(1), and
                    ``(B) the sum of the amounts allowed as a credit 
                for all preceding periods under section 2505(a)(2).
        For purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the applicable credit amount 
        for any calendar year before 1998 is the amount which would be 
        determined under section 2010(c) if the applicable exclusion 
        amount were the dollar amount under section 6018(a)(1) for such 
        year.''.
            (2) Gift tax.--Section 2505(a) of such Code (relating to 
        unified credit against gift tax) is amended by adding at the 
        end the following new flush sentence:
``For purposes of applying paragraph (2) for any calendar year, the 
rates of tax in effect under section 2502(a)(2) for such calendar year 
shall, in lieu of the rates of tax in effect for preceding calendar 
periods, be used in determining the amounts allowable as a credit under 
this section for all preceding calendar periods.''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to estates of decedents dying, generation-skipping transfers, and 
gifts made, after December 31, 2009.
    (f) Additional Modifications to Estate Tax.--
            (1) In general.--The following provisions of the Economic 
        Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, and the 
        amendments made by such provisions, are hereby repealed:
                    (A) Subtitles A and E of title V.
                    (B) Subsection (d), and so much of subsection 
                (f)(3) as relates to subsection (d), of section 511.
                    (C) Paragraph (2) of subsection (b), and paragraph 
                (2) of subsection (e), of section 521.
        The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be applied as if such 
        provisions and amendments had never been enacted.
            (2) Sunset not to apply to title v of egtrra.--Section 901 
        of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 
        2001 shall not apply to title V of such Act.
            (3) Repeal of deadwood.--
                    (A) Sections 2011, 2057, and 2604 of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986 are hereby repealed.
                    (B) The table of sections for part II of subchapter 
                A of chapter 11 of such Code is amended by striking the 
                item relating to section 2011.
                    (C) The table of sections for part IV of subchapter 
                A of chapter 11 of such Code is amended by striking the 
                item relating to section 2057.
                    (D) The table of sections for subchapter A of 
                chapter 13 of such Code is amended by striking the item 
                relating to section 2604.
                                 <all>