Budget Amendment ID: FY2023-S4-784

OTH 784

Estate Tax Modernization

Messrs. Tarr, Fattman, O'Connor and Moore and Ms. Moran moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting after section _ the following section:-

"SECTION 1 Section 2A of chapter 65C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place the following subsection:-

(a) A tax is hereby imposed upon the transfer of the estate of each person dying on or after January 1, 1997 who, at the time of death, was a resident of the commonwealth. The amount of the tax shall be equal to the credit for state death taxes that would have been allowable to a decedent’s estate as computed under Code section 2011, as in effect on December 31, 2000, hereinafter referred to as the “credit”. In the event that the federal gross estate of a person includes real or tangible personal property located outside of Massachusetts at the time of death, the tax shall be reduced by an amount equal to the proportion of such allowable credit as the value of said real or tangible personal property located outside of Massachusetts bears to the value of the entire federal gross estate wherever situated, as determined under Code section 2011, as in effect on December 31, 2000.

SECTION 2. Said section 2A of said chapter 65C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:-

(f) Effective for the estates of decedents dying on or after July 1, 2022, for purposes of computing the tax imposed by subsections (a) and (b), the credit shall be determined based on the value of the federal taxable estate after such estate is reduced by $2,000,000. Estates of decedents dying on or after July 1, 2022 are not required to pay any tax under subsections (a) and (b) if the value of the federal taxable estate is $2,000,000 or less. For purposes of this subsection, the federal taxable estate is the federal gross estate less any Qualified Conservation Exclusion elected under Code section 2031(c), as in effect on December 31, 2000, and further reduced by the deductions allowable by the Code, as in effect on December 31, 2000.

SECTION 3. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect for the estates of decedents dying on or after July 1, 2022."