History of the Federal Estate Tax

The history of estate taxes in America has been a long and winding road. Careful estate planning is still one of the most important ways to manage and protect your assets for your heirs.

The Stamp Act of 1797 was the first federal estate tax in the United States and was passed to help fund an undeclared war with France; it was repealed in 1802. The Revenue Act of 1862 reinstated the estate tax in order to fund the Civil War; it was abolished in 1870. To finance the Spanish American War, the War Revenue Act of 1898 was passed, and subsequently abolished in 1902. Due to the costs of World War I, the Revenue Act of 1916 reinstated an estate tax that, in some form or other, has been in effect ever since.

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 gradually increased the federal estate tax exemption, until finally repealing the federal estate tax altogether for the 2010 tax year only. The 2010 Tax Relief Act reinstated the federal estate tax with a $5 million exemption (indexed for inflation after 2011) through December 31, 2012. The federal estate tax exemption is $5.12 million in 2012.

Unless Congress acts to amend or extend this latest tax law, the estate tax will revert to pre-2001 tax law rates, with a $1 million exemption and a top tax rate of 55%.

The information in this article is not intended to be tax or legal advice, and it may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. You are encouraged to seek tax or legal advice from an independent professional advisor. The content is derived from sources believed to be accurate. Neither the information presented nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. This material was written and prepared by Emerald. © 2012 Emerald Connect, Inc.

Securities and investment advisory services offered through ING Financial Partners, Inc., member FINRA, SIPC.

Federal and state insurance and securities rules and regulations prohibit registered representative(s) and/or investment adviser representative(s) from soliciting, offering and selling any insurance or securities products or providing investment advice until they are properly registered and licensed in each state jurisdiction.

The registered representative(s) and/or investment adviser representative(s) listed on this website are licensed and registered in the following states:

Due to various state regulations and registration requirements concerning the dissemination of information regarding investment products and services, we are currently required to limit access of the following pages to individuals residing in states where we are currently registered. A Broker/Dealer, Registered Investment Adviser, Registered Representative or Investment Adviser Representative may only transact business in a particular state after licensure or satisfying qualifications requirements of that state, or only if they are excluded or exempted from the state's Broker/Dealer, Registered Investment Adviser, or Registered Representative or Investment Adviser Representative requirements, as the case may be; and follow-up, individualized responses to consumers in a particular state by Broker/Dealer, Registered Investment Adviser, Registered Representative or Investment Adviser Representative that involve either the effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, as the case may be, shall not be made without first complying with the state's Broker/Dealer, Registered Investment Adviser, Registered Representative or Investment Adviser Representative requirements, or pursuant to an applicable state exemption or exclusion.

The information on this website is intended for use only by residents of the states listed below. Securities related services may not be provided to individuals residing in any state not listed.

Metzger Financial Services is not a subsidiary of nor controlled by ING Financial Partners, Inc

We are licensed to sell Insurance Products in the following states:
Arkansas, Indiana, North Carolina, New York, Ohio.

We are registered to sell Securities in the following states:
Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Ohio.