Mike Conaway: “I think to the other Members in the House listening to this debate this sounds like a school yard kind of struggle: Yes…”

“I think to the other Members in the House listening to this debate this sounds like a school yard kind of struggle: Yes, you are; no, you're not; yes, you are; no, you're not. We are back and forth. We are both using the same set of facts. But the truth of the matter is, in 2011 and 2012, however it happens, under the current code the revenues of the government will go up $400 billion. The rhetoric on the other side of the aisle that this does not represent a tax increase would have a lot greater credibility with me and those on our side of the aisle if in fact our colleagues on the Budget Committee hadn't spent that $400 billion. The chairman mentioned earlier about waiting until December 31, 2011, to fix these things. The problem with that is that at the end of 2010, maybe that is the date he was referencing, the estate tax goes from a zero tax rate to a 55 percent tax rate. I spent a career helping folks comply with a very complex code, and estate planning requires generally a lot longer period of time to react and put plans in place than from one year to the next. So, to keep estates out there hung up with the idea that the tax is going to come back fully at 55 percent, I think is unfair. The other thing that has to be said is that all of the tax increases go in fully. So the 33 percent bracket goes to a 39.6 percent bracket.”