Several Republicans in Congress are seeking to block the changes to valuation discounts that were recently announced by the IRS.
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced regulation changes to the ways valuation discounts will be treated for estate tax purposes. The changes are very technical and complicated, but the IRS sees them as closing a loophole it has long sought to shutter.
Previously, the IRS had repeatedly asked Congress to do so, but as Congress has refused the agency did so on its own. As the effect would be to increase the estate taxes some estates have to pay, some lawmakers are seeking to block the new regulations according to Wealth Management in "Lawmakers Target Spending Bill to Block Estate Tax Rules."
At this point it is unclear whether the Republicans seeking to block the changes have the ability to get it done. If the bill is presented as a stand-alone piece of legislation, then it might be easy for President Obama to veto it unless a lot of Democrats in Congress get behind the bill.
However, Republicans might attempt to add this to another piece of legislation, such as a spending measure, that would be more difficult to veto. As of now, they are not certain what they will do.
Of course, the prospects for this bill and anything else having to do with the estate tax could change dramatically after the elections in November if either party scores a big victory.
Reference: Wealth Management (Oct. 5, 2016) "Lawmakers Target Spending Bill to Block Estate Tax Rules."
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