The gift tax has implications in a variety of New York estate planning situations, from deciding the best way to provide aid to loved ones to conducting business succession planning. As with many other tax issues, timing is important because lawmakers at the federal and state level can change these rates. While the risk of rate changes always exists, there has been significant discussion as of late about a variety of potential changes involving the 12-member federal “Super Committee.” The Super Committee has been charged by Congress with reducing the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next ten years. To do so, the group will have to enact a combination of spending reductions and tax changes. No matter what combination they ultimately decide upon, it is highly likely that their work will have effects on local residents crafting their New York estate plan.
For example, last week the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch published a story explaining proposed changes to gift tax exclusions. The specific committee meetings are mostly private, so some of the recent thoughts on the committee’s actions are speculative. However, it is known that one of the President’s proposed recommendations to the committee includes reducing the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax thresholds. The proposal would reduce the tax-free gift threshold to its 2009 level of $1 million. Currently the tax-free threshold is supposed to stay at $5 million until the end of 2012. However, many are speculating that the committee may decide to return the exclusion back to $1 million a year early as a cost-saving measure.
The story’s author summarizes the changes by noting, “Overall tax planning and gift tax thresholds that are now available could be at risk for families…not much good can come from the committee’s recommendations from a wealth preservation perspective.” Clearly, the potential actions by this group may make it important for some local residents to take long-term financial actions now. Our New York estate planning attorneys urge all community members who may be affected by these changes to visit with a professional to either create a plan or update an existing one. Depending on the advice received, it may be prudent to accelerate planned lifetime gifts, review estate-tax funding mechanisms, or otherwise revise estate plans.
Under the current schedule the Super Committee is expected to present its recommendations to Congress on November 23rd. Congress will then have a month to take action on the proposal, and no amendments will be considered. If Congress does not pass the measure as proposed then automatic spending cuts will be triggered.
See Our Related Blog Posts:
Proposed Tax Policy Changes May Affect Future Options For Estate Planners
Economic Uncertainty Leads to Rise in Estate Planning Interest