Frist Pushes for Move on Estate Taxes

WASHINGTON -- Senate Republican leader Bill Frist asked House leaders for help reducing taxes on inherited estates, conceding that the GOP cannot eliminate them during this election year.

"I understand we are not going to get total repeal this Congress," Frist, R-Tenn., told reporters Friday.

Frist promised to hold a vote before July 4 if House GOP leaders pass a bill that changes a quirky law erasing the tax in 2010 and reviving it a year later. The schedule would put the tax cut, a favorite of many GOP voters, back on the agenda before an election with control of Congress at stake.

House GOP leaders are actively considering the request, a senior aide said.

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This year, $2 million of a person's estate, or $4 million of a couple's, is exempt from taxation. The rest can be taxed at rates as high as 46 percent. By 2009, the exemption will increase to $3.5 million per person, or $7 million per couple, and the top tax rate will drop to 45 percent.

Frist said that law is "just crazy" and said lawmakers need to make permanent changes to the tax.