2012 Montana Senate Debates: on Tax Reform


Dennis Rehberg: End the inheritance tax completely

[The debate] marked yet another tired back-and-forth on the estate tax, referred to by conservatives as the "death tax." Tester favors extending the Bush-era tax cut exemption for couples inheriting estates worth less than $10 million; Rehberg wants to deep-six the tax completely. The discussion between the candidates didn't, and never has, addressed the fact that, according to a study conducted by a trio of IRS researchers, only two to three percent of all deaths in the U.S. were subject to estate taxation even under the Clinton-era exemption of $1 million. In 1998, only 50,089 of the 103,892 people who filed estate tax returns actually paid any taxes. That's the type of fact we'd like to see dropped in a debate like this.
Source: Missoula News on 2012 Montana Senate debate Oct 22, 2012

Jon Tester: Extend Bush exemption for inheritance tax up to $10M

[The debate] marked yet another tired back-and-forth on the estate tax, referred to by conservatives as the "death tax." Tester favors extending the Bush-era tax cut exemption for couples inheriting estates worth less than $10 million; Rehberg wants to deep-six the tax completely. The discussion between the candidates didn't, and never has, addressed the fact that, according to a study conducted by a trio of IRS researchers, only two to three percent of all deaths in the U.S. were subject to estate taxation even under the Clinton-era exemption of $1 million. In 1998, only 50,089 of the 103,892 people who filed estate tax returns actually paid any taxes. That's the type of fact we'd like to see dropped in a debate like this.
Source: Missoula News on 2012 Montana Senate debate Oct 22, 2012

Dennis Rehberg: We need tax certainty ; make Bush tax cuts permanent

When asked about the so-called Bush tax cuts expiring on Jan. 1, a date that has been called "Taxmaggedon," Rehberg responded that he would vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act and make the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 permanent. He cited a need for tax certainty in the country.

Tester didn't address the tax increases directly, but did say that that "House and Senate need to come together with a major proposal that reduces our debt."

Source: Daily Inter Lake on 2012 Montana Senate debates Oct 14, 2012

Dennis Rehberg: Eliminate the death tax entirely

Asked about an inheritance tax being reinstated on Jan. 1, Tester said he favors having an exemption for the first $5 million in inheritance. Rehberg said he favors eliminating the "death tax" entirely.
Source: Daily Inter Lake on 2012 Montana Senate debates Oct 14, 2012

Jon Tester: Limit inheritance tax to estates over $5 million

Asked about an inheritance tax being reinstated on Jan. 1, Tester said he favors having an exemption for the first $5 million in inheritance. Rehberg said he favors eliminating the "death tax" entirely.
Source: Daily Inter Lake on 2012 Montana Senate debates Oct 14, 2012

  • The above quotations are from 2012 Montana Senate Debate.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Dennis Rehberg on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by Jon Tester on Tax Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Tax Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018