TAX ALERT 2016-5: THE 2016 ELECTION: TAX CHANGES EXPECTED Valuation discounts. On August 2, 2016, the IRS released proposed regulations, which may limit valuation discounts for transfers of interests in family-controlled entities. These regulations contain many ambiguities, and the IRS requested comments and held a public hearing on December 1, 2016. The regulations are controversial, many comments were sent and only a few clarifying changes were provided at the hearing. Asa result of the election, we believe it is likely the IRS will not proceed with these regulations. For now, there has been no official word from the IRS. Planning. The proposal to repeal the federal estate tax appears straightforward, but will be complicated if it is temporary. The possibility of reinstatement of the estate tax may be a reason for traditional estate planning techniques, such as gifts and sales, to continue to be utilized. There is also significant uncertainty as to the related federal gift tax and basis step-up proposals. This makes current planning difficult because you may be comparing the consequences of taking action currently (such as making a gift), with the uncertain future consequences of not taking such action. Nevertheless, there are some general guidelines to consider. e It does not appear advisable to make a current gift that requires the payment of gift tax. Although the gift tax may be less costly than the estate tax, that would not be true if the estate tax is repealed. e There are many types of “free” gifts that do not require the payment of gift tax, such as annual exclusion gifts, tuition and medical gifts, gifts utilizing the lifetime gift exemption, and zeroed-out GRATs. o If such gifts are being considered only to save estate tax, it does not appear necessary to make these gifts, unless there is an applicable state estate tax*. However, if repeal is temporary and the estate tax will be reinstated, then such gifts may continue to be advisable. o If such gifts