On March 25, 2021, Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse introduced the “For the 99.5 Percent Act” (referred to in this blog as the “99.5% Act”), a piece of legislation that would change federal estate and gift taxes. Here are the highlights you need to know:
- Reduces the federal estate tax exemption from $11.7 million to $3.5 million
- Reduces the gift tax exemption from $11.7 million to $1 million
- Tax rates increase for gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax (GST) at a progressive rate