Recent Tax Legislation—The Excise, Estate and Gift Tax Adjustment Act of 1970

The Excise, Estate and Gift Tax Adjustment Act of 1970 will result in a temporary increase in the revenue derived from estate and gift taxes, a potentially longer-term increase in excise tax revenues and a permanent decrease in the revenue generated by the minimum tax on items of tax preference income and by the aircraft use tax. More important, it will have an enduring effect on estate, gift and income tax planning and procedures. The origins and principal provisions of the Act will be discussed in the first few pages of this article, after which the provisions relating to the estate tax will be considered in detail. They will receive special attention because they are more numerous, more complex, and more important than those of any other segment of the Act.