Boysie Billings and William Volt accepted for publication in Tax Notes
Mike Ilitch School of Business Professor of Accounting Boysie Billings, and Professor of business law and ethics William Volz have been accepted for publication in Tax Notes, which publishes news, research and analysis of tax law and practices.
The article, titled “Financial and Tax Professionals Face Substantial Tax Law Changes for Intergenerational Wealth Transfer Taxes,” was co-authored by Kyung Jin Kim, a former Master of Science in Accounting student.
Abstract
The article reviews tax law changes in wealth transfer taxes to update tax professionals and other financial professionals about the recent changes to U.S. estate tax laws affecting inter-generational wealth transfers. Inter/intra-generational wealth transfer taxes are typically levied through Federal estate and gift taxes. Among the changes discussed are the increase in the combined gross assets and prior taxable gifts necessary to trigger an estate tax, along with the portability of estate tax exemption between a decedent and a surviving spouse. As noted, in 2026, without congressional action for taxpayers dying after 2025, the threshold gross estate and prior taxable reverts to $5 million, indexed for inflation, to trigger the estate tax. The article also evaluates the courts’ rationale in ruling regarding split-dollar life insurance arrangements.
