A3 · Pillar A · Revenue Optimization
Estate and transfer tax reform
Restore the federal estate-tax exemption to approximately $7 million per individual (the 2017 pre-TCJA level, indexed) from the current $13.99 million; tighten valuation discounts for family-controlled entities; eliminate stepped-up basis for inherited assets above defined thresholds, with surviving-spouse and primary-residence carve-outs.
- 10-year fiscal
- +$550BRevenue
- Implementation
- Years 2–4
- Middle class
- Neutral
- Planetary
- Neutral
$400B–$700B · Medium confidence
Even at the restored $7 million threshold, the affected population is about the top 0.5 percent of decedents.
No material climate effect.
Global precedent
Estate or inheritance taxes operate in most OECD jurisdictions. The United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan retain them; some Nordic countries have eliminated theirs.
Lead mechanism
Treasury and IRS; Senate Finance; House Ways and Means.
Bipartisan framing
Conservative case
Restores pre-TCJA architecture and addresses dynastic wealth concentration.
Progressive case
Reduces intergenerational wealth concentration that constrains social mobility.
Figures in this framework are illustrative directional estimates derived from publicly available data and conventional Congressional Budget Office budget-window logic. They are not official CBO scores. Any provision adopted from this framework would require formal CBO scoring before legislative consideration. This document is a policy white paper, not an introduced bill.