The House of Representatives today approved H.R. 5638, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief Act of 2006, which will provide permanent estate tax and gift tax relief for millions of Americans. Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX-26) voted in favor of passage. The estate tax, also known as the death tax, is a tax on the value of a deceased individual’s assets before they are passed to their heirs.

“I’ve always believed that a tax system should be simply, fair and just,” said Congressman Michael C. Burgess. “The most unreasonable of taxes is death tax. Our bill today will provide permanent relief from this inherently unfair tax, allowing Americans who have worked hard their whole lives to pass down the fruits of their labor.”

H.R. 5638, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief Act of 2006, reunifies the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes and increases the estate and gift tax exemption to $5 million per person. In addition, married couples can carry over any unused part of their spouse’s $5 million exemption. For estates between $5 million and $25 million, the rate of tax will be the same as the capital gains tax rate. On estates valued at more than $25 million, the top marginal rate of tax will be double the capital gains tax rate.