A History of Federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Taxes

Publication Date: January 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: Banking and finance

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Abstract:

Since 1976, the federal transfer tax system has included an estate tax, gift tax, and generation-skipping tax. The estate and gift transfer taxes have been part of the federal revenue system, off and on, since the earliest days of the United States. With the enactment of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-16), we are entering the first off period since 1916. This Act phases out the estate and generation-skipping taxes over a ten year period, leaving the gift tax as the only federal transfer tax. It must be kept in mind that the repeal of the estate and generation-skipping taxes is not permanent. Unless revised, these taxes are to be reinstated in 2011.

There are three primary types of proposed legislation in this area one can expect in the 109th Congress. One type would make the repeal permanent. Another would accelerate the repeal of these transfer taxes. The third would reinstate these taxes at lower rates in a manner more considerate of family owned business.

In this report, the history of the federal transfer taxes, has been divided into four parts: (1) the federal death and gift taxes utilized in the period 1789 to 1915; (2) the development of the modern estate and gift taxes from 1916 through 1975; (3) the creation and refinement of a unified estate and gift tax system, supplemented by a generation-skipping transfer tax; and (4) the phase out and repeal of the estate and generation-skipping taxes, with the gift tax being retained as a device to protect the integrity of the income tax.