Can’t I just ignore Biden’s Greenbook Estate Tax Proposals?

President Biden recently issued his budget on March 9, 2023, the “General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2024 Revenue Proposals Analysis and Discussions,” known as the “Greenbook.” The estate tax provisions of the Greenbook will be explained in this webinar.  These provisions are in some ways even more extensive and harsh than the prior Democrat proposals, e.g., the most recent ones proposed by Senator Sanders. A stated goal of the estate tax proposals in the Greenbook are: “Close estate and gift tax loopholes that allow the wealthy to reduce their tax by using complicated trust arrangements to transfer their assets to their heirs.” But with a Republican House nothing will be enacted? Right? Not necessarily. The program will discuss why ignoring these proposals might be a mistake. What should practitioners advise clients? What might clients do? How might planning be effected? The program will also discuss other recent developments that suggest that efforts to address estate tax planning loopholes is not limited to the Greenbook.

Recently, Revenue Ruling 2023-2 confirmed the IRS position that no basis adjustments is possible for assets held in irrevocable grantor trusts outside the grantor’s estate.

On March 20, 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernard Sanders, Chris Van Hollen and Sheldon Whitehouse wrote a letter to Janet Yellen Secretary of the Department of the Treasury encouraging her to “…use your existing authority to limit the ultra-wealthy’s abuse of trusts to avoid paying taxes.

While many may dismiss any possibility of restrictive estate tax legislation as fanciful with a Republican controlled House, there really is no assurance that change may not occur.

Speakers: Martin Shenkman, and Joy Matak of Sax LLP.

Featured Charity: American Cancer Society.

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* No CPE, CLE, etc. is offered but a certificate of attendance will be provided.