Dispatches from our internal memoranda:

1. The Supreme Court has held several times in the past that there’s no constitutional problem with a retroactive tax increase, but having said that, almost all the speakers agreed (as do I) that the more time that goes by, the less is the possibility of a retroactive tax increase for 2010 only. Those who die in 2010 will probably have no tax to pay.

2. A related, but separate, issue, is what the tax rate will be for 2011 and thereafter.The current law says that if Congress does nothing before year end 2010, then it’s just as if the Bush tax cuts never ever happened, and we’re back to the pre-Bush $1,000,000 unified credit, and the old rate schedule (and ALSO stepped up basis would be resurrected, just as if it never went away). One of the speakers shared my fear that in the current atmosphere in Washington, it’ll be impossible to get a consensus on anything, so we’ll be back to the old law by default. We’ll just have to wait to see what happens. I’m not optimistic.

3. As you may know, Sandor Levin took over from Charlie Rangel as Chairman of House Ways and Means, and he has said the the Committee will take a look at this in April. Why they have to do that is not clear to me. as I thought that the extension of the 2009 rules that the House has already passed was still valid, and we were only waiting on the Senate, but what do I know.

4. As I had suspected, while we know basically what information we’re going to have to supply on carryover basis, we don’t have the forms yet. In any event, that particular part of it wouldn’t be due to be filed until April 15, 2011.

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