01.11.10
Repealed!
It’s not as sweet as the repeal of Prohibition, but the Estate Tax has been repealed . . . for now . . . and only temporarily. Under convoluted earlier legislation, the Estate Tax was scheduled to go away as of 1/1/2010, but then scheduled to come back on 1/1/2011 with a mere $1 million exemption (in 2009, the exemption was $3.5 million). The 2009 Congress meant to act on it but failed, so right now, the Estate Tax is repealed for 2010 and will come back on 1/1/2011.
Important note: Many members of Congress, especially Democrats, want to bring back the Estate Tax during the next legislative section and make it retroactive to 1/1/2010. Such retroactivity, though, has constitutional hurdles.
We’ll see.
Does your favorite charity offer scrip cards? With a scrip card, the charity buys scrip from retailers at a discount, then sells the scrip to supporters at full value. The difference between the amount paid by the supporter and the amount paid by the charity is the charity’s “profit.” The difference is also tax-deductible to the supporter, if the supporter has the option of receiving the discount margin in cash. (Added bonus: If the supporter keeps the discount margin, it’s not taxable.) 
