House passes estate tax repeal

Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. -- The House of Delegates overwhelmingly approved legislation Thursday to repeal the posthumous tax on the estates of millionaires.

The 93-7 vote sends the bill to the Senate, where similar legislation is pending. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has said he supports the bill.

Kaine's predecessor and fellow Democrat, Mark R. Warner, vetoed a bill to repeal the estate tax in 2003. Similar measures failed in the next two sessions, and the House GOP leadership made passing it this session one of its top priorities.

The bill ends the tax on estates valued at $1 million or more. It would cost the state about $36 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, $140 million in the second year, then $120 million each subsequent year, according to the Department of Planning and Budget.

Thirty-four other states have eliminated the tax, said the bill's sponsor, Republican Del. Robert Tata of Virginia Beach.