No Surprise – Obama Planning to Block Repeal of Estate Tax

The federal estate tax picture is becoming clearer.  According to The Wall Street Journal, President-elect Barack Obama and congressional leaders are prepared to move quickly to freeze the exemption amount and tax rate at 2009 levels.  The Obama plan would mean that estates less than $3.5 million would be exempt from the federal estate tax.  It would also mean that the maximum tax rate would remain at 45%.