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Email Story to a Friend June 9, 2006 Senate denies effort to repeal estate tax By MARY DALRYMPLE The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Senate rejected Republican efforts Thursday to repeal the estate tax, but GOP leaders promised to try again before this election year is over. "Wiping this vicious tax from the books is a matter of principle," said Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. Senators voted 57-41 to advance the bill, but that was three votes short of the 60 needed to overcome objections from a majority of Democrats and a pair of Republicans. "We got very close, but close doesn't count," said Robert Bennett, R-Utah. Those opposed to the bill said it would deliver an unwise tax cut when the government needed more money to balance its budget and to wage war. Advertisement "This bill has nothing to do with the average American," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. "It is about the wealthiest people in America flexing their muscles and pushing through on Capitol Hill the most outrageous piece of special interest legislation in modern memory." Republicans staged the vote knowing they did not have the 60 votes to prevail on repealing the tax, a top priority of many GOP voters. Some of the tax's biggest critics had hoped they could attract a few extra votes by extending a cooperative hand to Democrats. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., proposed an alternative that would have relieved more estates from taxation by letting an individual's estate worth $5 million, or a couple's worth $10 million, escape taxation. That exclusion would increase each year to keep pace with inflation. Most estates exceeding that size would be taxed at capital gains tax rates. The very largest, when exceeding $30 million, would be taxed at 30 percent. Kyl said the arrangement aimed to "tax the most wealthy but allow those small businesses and farms the opportunity to continue their existence." Setting the tax rate for most estates equal to capital gains would put living business and property owners on equal footing with heirs, he said. Few Democrats reached for the deal, and some criticized the offer as tantamount to repeal. "This is not a serious effort at compromise," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "It's a pig in a poke, and no one should buy it." Two Republicans, Sens. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and George Voinovich of Ohio, broke with their party and voted against the effort. Both said the government, with its annual budget deficits, could not afford the tax cut. Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat who favors repealing the tax, had warned that negotiators needed more time. He said he hoped the vote would invigorate efforts at compromise by shrinking the tax. One Republican working on such a compromise said Democratic unwillingness to let the bill go forward means GOP negotiators may be much less willing to negotiate. "I would have been prepared to make some concessions to have a bipartisan solution," said Trent Lott of Mississippi. "Now I think we should write it more to our liking." The next estate tax offer may not include a second bracket taxing the wealthiest estates at higher rates, or will push the $30 million threshold for the second bracket even higher, he said. Lott also said the estate tax could find its way into other legislation moving toward the president's desk this summer. Republican candidates up for re-election this year can, if nothing else, point to the vote as proof of their support for killing the tax. "I'm going to make it work for me," said Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, considered vulnerable to his Democratic opponent in Montana. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations --> online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Entertainment Guide --> Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisements Advertisement