Reductions in New York's
estate tax which applies to only the three percent largest
estates by increasing the
threshold,
below which there is no
tax, from $ 1 million to $ 5.25 million, and reducing the
tax rate for
estates above $ 5.25 million from 16 % to 10 %.
Alternatively, if the survivor had made significant lifetime gifts before their death to bring their
estate below the # 2m
threshold — even if they had not survived for seven years — then their
estate would have been entitled to # 1m
tax free, giving their children # 70,000 more than in the first example and even more if they survived the gift by seven years.