The Eagle-Tribune on possible Massachusetts estate tax reform:
BOSTON — A stalled package of permanent tax cuts is back on Beacon Hill’s agenda with lawmakers re-filing the proposals for the new legislative session.
The proposals include plans to adjust state income tax laws, boost rent deductions, expand tax credits for housing and child care and overhaul the estate tax.
They were originally proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker in 2021, but lawmakers didn’t take up the plan before the Dec. 31 end of the previous session.
A new two-year session gets underway this month, and lawmakers appear to have permanent tax reform at the top of their agenda.
House Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, has filed a proposal that includes a plan to overhaul the estate tax, which is charged to a decedent’s estate when their assets pass on to their beneficiaries.
Massachusetts is one of only a dozen states to charge a “death” tax, which applies to an estate worth more than $1 million in value, and is tied with Oregon for having the lowest triggering level. Assets can include stocks and proceeds from life insurance policies, boats, vehicles and other earthly possessions.
Tarr’s plan calls for doubling that threshold to $2 million, which has previously been estimated to save an estimated 2,500 taxpayers more than $207 million.
This post is a part of Old Colony Law’s Estate Tax Updates.