Posted: Apr 12, 2012 1:22 PM CDT
By ERIK SCHELZIG
Associated Press
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The House has voted to begin phasing out Tennessee's inheritance tax and to lower the state's sales tax on groceries.
The chamber voted 88-8 on the estate tax measure Thursday, and 96-0 to cut the food tax from 5.5% to 5.25%.
Republicans hailed the estate tax cut as a way to keep retirees from moving out of state, while Democrats argued that the tax cut on groceries affects a far larger number of people.
Both measures were part of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's legislative agenda this year.
The inheritance tax currently applies to estates worth more than $1 million, and was paid in 845 instances in the last budget year.
The bill would bump that exemption up to $1.25 million next year and to $5 million by 2016.
