Kent Conrad: “But that is assuming we have a million-dollar-per-person exemption. Under what is in the budget, we would have $3.5…”

“But that is assuming we have a million-dollar-per-person exemption. Under what is in the budget, we would have $3.5 million per person--$7 million a couple--which, according to our figures, would give only 7,000 estates out of 3.5 million any tax. I think the difference between your 11,000 and my 7,000 was, you are talking about estates that have a filing responsibility. I am talking about estates that would actually have a tax liability. As the Senator well knows, there are some additional people who have a filing obligation even though they don't have a liability. The numbers the Senator and I are using are actually quite close. We are using somewhat different assumptions. He is talking about if we went down, which current law does, to a million dollar exemption in 2011, 131,000 estates would be affected. What we are seeking to do is to make certain that does not occur, that the exemption amount be $3.5 million a person, $7 million a couple, which would exempt 99.8 percent of estates.”