Pepper Hamilton Tax Alert Fiscal Cliff Tax Changes

On New Year’s Day 2013, the “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012” (the Act) was enacted to avoid the impact of automatic “fiscal cliff” tax increases.

The Act, effective January 1, 2013, retains and makes permanent the Bush-era income tax rates for all but high-income taxpayers, makes permanent the current estate tax exemption with a slight increase in the marginal estate tax rate, and makes important business tax changes.

The elimination of “sunset” provisions in the income and estate tax should provide a more predictable tax environment and enable long-term planning for individuals, but the business tax changes are for the most part temporary and provide limited windows for planning.

To read the summary of key issues, click here.

Please contact any member of the Pepper Hamilton Tax Practice Group to discuss any of these issues.