Support grows for a choice on the estate tax

Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) wants taxpayers to have options on how to pay for an estate tax.

"I think there is a likelihood for bipartisan agreement on this," he told The Hill. "And that's what you do retroactively for those who died in between the first of this year and the effective date of the [new] bill." 

Under the senator's plan, beneficiaries could choose to either abide by current law or agree to whatever Congress passes. The deal would likely be for estates created before the year end.

Democratic staffers with the House Ways and Means Committee have indicated support for this initiative.

"I think most [lawmakers] agree that people... should probably have an option to utilize either the existing law or the new law, whatever those terms might be," Kyl said.

The estate tax is currently repealed, but assets sold from estates face an onerous tax because of how their value is calculated. 

It is unclear if Congress will address the calculation problem. 

Kyl seeks to create a 35 percent tax on estates worth more than $5 million. It would include a less menacing calculation for taxing assets sold from estates.

The senator thinks his bill could pass by Memorial Day, assuming it includes offsets that Democrats and Republicans can support.