ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - The Maryland Senate has approved raising the exemption on the estate tax.
The Senate voted 36-10 on Thursday for a measure already approved by the House of Delegates. That sends the bill to Gov. Martin O'Malley.
The measure would recouple Maryland's estate tax to the federal one in several years. Now, Maryland estates worth more than $1 million are taxed at a rate of up to 16 percent.
The bill would raise the exemption to $1.5 million next year and $2 million in 2016. The exemption would rise to $3 million in 2017 and $4 million in 2018 before being coupled with the federal exemption in 2019. The federal exemption, which is indexed to inflation, is projected to be $5.9 million in 2019.
