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Home / Washington Business - January 2006 / Points of View: Christine O. Gregoire |
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Points of View: Christine O. Gregoire |
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Written On: January 2006 |
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May 10, 2005
Dear Edmund,
Thank you for contacting me concerning the estate tax.
The Legislature and I vowed not to raise any of the state's three general taxes—state sales tax, state property tax and business taxes. We met the challenge of balancing the budget by making several cuts in services, raising taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, and reinstating the estate tax. We simply must meet our obligations to our schools, the state's most vulnerable citizens, and to invigorating our economy. The estate tax provides a way for those who have prospered in our great state to give back.
This tax was created as a stand-alone state estate tax that
is not affected by possible changes in federal law after 2005. The tax does not apply to estates valued at $1.5 million or less for persons dying in 2005. Beginning in 2006, estates under $2.0 million are exempt.
The Department of Revenue will use a table to calculate the taxes on the value of an estate after applicable deductions are taken. The rates range between 10 and 19 percent.
Because of allowable deductions for qualified farm property, most family farms will be exempt from the estate tax. This allows active farms to be passed on to family members unencumbered.
Christine O. Gregoire
Governor
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