GOP Lawmakers Keep Estate Taxes On Agenda

"The death tax is fundamentally unfair; it discourages hard work, entrepreneurship and savings, while rewarding consumption," according to the authors of the priority list. "Congress must permanently repeal the death tax. Without a permanent repeal, current law imposes confiscatory tax rates and tremendous planning costs on families, especially those owning a small business?. Making death tax repeal permanent will eliminate the unjust and burdensome effects of this tax."

The authors of the list talk about the permanent repeal of the tax on stock dividends, but they do not say whether Republican leaders want to expand the dividend tax repeal to include a provision providing a pass-through for dividends paid into variable annuities.

One item on the list calls for Congress to provide an above-the-line tax deduction for the purchase of high-deductible health plans and to provide additional support for low-income people and college graduates who want to buy health coverage.

Another item on the priority list would provide more support for family caregivers and an above-the-line tax deduction for individual purchasers of long term care insurance.