In response to a recent question during his bus tour about the Federal Estate Tax, President Obama answered, in part, "Well, there's no reason why we have to go all the way back to the 2001 level. There is a compromise that has been discussed where you'd essentially have a $7 million exemption per family."
Also, there is speculation that the appointment of Sen. Jon Kyl (R - AZ) to the Congressional panel that has been created to tackle the federal budget deficit means that the Federal Estate Tax will either be completely repealed, or at least remain at the 2011 and 2012 levels ($5 million estate tax exemption and 35% estate tax rate) since Sen. Kyl was instrumental in getting that deal done at the end of 2010.
