Estate Tax Relief Act of 2003

The Estate Tax Relief Act of 2003 (H.R. 2502) proposed significant changes to how the federal government taxes the transfer of wealth after a person's death. The bill sought to lower the overall tax rate on estates and gifts while significantly increasing the amount of money a person could pass on tax-free—known as the unified credit exclusion—to $10 million. Additionally, the legislation aimed to simplify the tax code by repealing specific, existing tax benefits reserved for family-owned business interests in favor of the higher universal exemption.