[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 15 (Thursday, January 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S588-S589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Barrasso, Mrs. 
        Blackburn, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Cramer, Mr. 
        Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Ms. Ernst, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. 
        Gardner, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Inhofe, 
        Mr. Isakson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Moran, Mr. Risch, 
        Mr. Roberts, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Young, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Rubio, and 
        Mr. Perdue):
  S. 215. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal 
the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 215

       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 ``Death Tax Repeal Act of 
     2019''.

     SEC. 2. REPEAL OF ESTATE AND GENERATION-SKIPPING TRANSFER 
                   TAXES.

       (a) Estate Tax Repeal.--Subchapter C of chapter 11 of 
     subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new section:

     ``SEC. 2210. TERMINATION.

       ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), 
     this chapter shall not apply to the estates of decedents 
     dying on or after the date of the enactment of the Death Tax 
     Repeal Act of 2019.
       ``(b) Certain Distributions From Qualified Domestic 
     Trusts.--In applying section 2056A with respect to the 
     surviving spouse of a decedent dying before the date of the 
     enactment of the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2019--
       ``(1) section 2056A(b)(1)(A) shall not apply to 
     distributions made after the 10-year period beginning on such 
     date, and
       ``(2) section 2056A(b)(1)(B) shall not apply on or after 
     such date.''.
       (b) Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Repeal.--Subchapter G 
     of chapter 13 of subtitle B of such Code is amended by adding 
     at the end the following new section:

     ``SEC. 2664. TERMINATION.

       ``This chapter shall not apply to generation-skipping 
     transfers on or after the date of the enactment of the Death 
     Tax Repeal Act of 2019.''.
       (c) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) The table of sections for subchapter C of chapter 11 of 
     the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 
     end the following new item:

``Sec. 2210. Termination.''.
       (2) The table of sections for subchapter G of chapter 13 of 
     such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     item:

``Sec. 2664. Termination.''.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to the estates of decedents dying, and 
     generation-skipping transfers, after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS OF GIFT TAX.

       (a) Computation of Gift Tax.--Subsection (a) of section 
     2502 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read 
     as follows:
       ``(a) Computation of Tax.--
       ``(1) In general.--The tax imposed by section 2501 for each 
     calendar year shall be an amount equal to the excess of--
       ``(A) a tentative tax, computed under paragraph (2), on the 
     aggregate sum of the taxable gifts for such calendar year and 
     for each of the preceding calendar periods, over
       ``(B) a tentative tax, computed under paragraph (2), on the 
     aggregate sum of the taxable gifts for each of the preceding 
     calendar periods.
       ``(2) Rate schedule.--


                                         ...............................
``If the amount with respect to which    The tentative tax is:
 the tentative tax to be computed is:.
Not over $10,000.......................  18% of such amount.
Over $10,000 but not over $20,000......  $1,800, plus 20% of the excess
                                          over $10,000.
Over $20,000 but not over $40,000......  $3,800, plus 22% of the excess
                                          over $20,000.

[[Page S589]]

 
Over $40,000 but not over $60,000......  $8,200, plus 24% of the excess
                                          over $40,000.
Over $60,000 but not over $80,000......  $13,000, plus 26% of the excess
                                          over $60,000.
Over $80,000 but not over $100,000.....  $18,200, plus 28% of the excess
                                          over $80,000.
Over $100,000 but not over $150,000....  $23,800, plus 30% of the excess
                                          over $100,000.
Over $150,000 but not over $250,000....  $38,800, plus 32% of the excess
                                          of $150,000.
Over $250,000 but not over $500,000....  $70,800, plus 34% of the excess
                                          over $250,000.
Over $500,000..........................  $155,800, plus 35% of the
                                          excess of $500,000.''.
 


       (b) Treatment of Certain Transfers in Trust.--Section 2511 
     of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 
     the end the following new subsection:
       ``(c) Treatment of Certain Transfers in Trust.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of this section and 
     except as provided in regulations, a transfer in trust shall 
     be treated as a taxable gift under section 2503, unless the 
     trust is treated as wholly owned by the donor or the donor's 
     spouse under subpart E of part I of subchapter J of chapter 
     1.''.
       (c) Lifetime Gift Exemption.--
       (1) In general.--Paragraph (1) of section 2505(a) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
       ``(1) the amount of the tentative tax which would be 
     determined under the rate schedule set forth in section 
     2502(a)(2) if the amount with respect to which such tentative 
     tax is to be computed were $10,000,000, reduced by''.
       (2) Inflation adjustment.--Section 2505 of such Code is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(d) Inflation Adjustment.--
       ``(1) In general.--In the case of any calendar year after 
     2011, the dollar amount in subsection (a)(1) shall be 
     increased by an amount equal to--
       ``(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by
       ``(B) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under 
     section 1(f)(3) for such calendar year by substituting 
     `calendar year 2010' for `calendar year 2016' in subparagraph 
     (A)(ii) thereof.
       ``(2) Rounding.--If any amount as adjusted under paragraph 
     (1) is not a multiple of $10,000, such amount shall be 
     rounded to the nearest multiple of $10,000.''.
       (d) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Section 2505(a) of such Code is amended by striking the 
     last sentence.
       (2) The heading for section 2505 of such Code is amended by 
     striking ``UNIFIED''.
       (3) The item in the table of sections for subchapter A of 
     chapter 12 of such Code relating to section 2505 is amended 
     to read as follows:

``Sec. 2505. Credit against gift tax.''.

       (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to gifts made on or after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (f) Transition Rule.--
       (1) In general.--For purposes of applying sections 1015(d), 
     2502, and 2505 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the 
     calendar year in which this Act is enacted shall be treated 
     as 2 separate calendar years one of which ends on the day 
     before the date of the enactment of this Act and the other of 
     which begins on such date of enactment.
       (2) Application of section 2504(b).--For purposes of 
     applying section 2504(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986, the calendar year in which this Act is enacted shall be 
     treated as one preceding calendar period.
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