The Massachusetts state legislature seriously considered big changes to the Massachusetts estate tax this summer, but in the end failed to pass a new law.

In early summer a bill was introduced that, if passed, would have made two major changes to the Massachusetts estate tax laws. First, the bill proposed increasing the Massachusetts estate tax exemption to $2 million. It is currently $1 million. Second, the bill proposed changing the way in which the Massachusetts estate tax would apply. Current law imposes estate taxes on the entire estate, if the estate is valued at $1 million or more. The bill proposed imposing tax only on the portion of the estate that exceeds $1 million. Both proposals would reduce estate taxes for many Massachusetts residents.

The proposed changes are much needed changes to the onerous Massachusetts estate tax, and it seemed as if the new law would pass. I hope that we will see these changes reconsidered by the legislature in the future.