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FULL COMMITTEE HEARING ON SMALL 

BUSINESS AND THE ESTATE TAX: 

IDENTIFYING REFORMS TO MEET THE NEEDS 

OF SMALL FIRMS AND FAMILY FARMERS 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS 

UNITED STATES 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

HEARING HELD 

NOVEMBER 4, 2009 

Small Business Committee Document Number 111-054 

Available via the GPO Website: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house 


Congress.#13
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS 

NYDIA M. VELA ́ ZQUEZ, New York, Chairwoman 

DENNIS MOORE, Kansas 

HEATH SHULER, North Carolina 

KATHY DAHLKEMPER, Pennsylvania 

KURT SCHRADER, Oregon 

ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona 

GLENN NYE, Virginia 

MICHAEL MICHAUD, Maine 

MELISSA BEAN, Illinois 

DAN LIPINSKI, Illinois 

JASON ALTMIRE, Pennsylvania 

YVETTE CLARKE, New York 

BRAD ELLSWORTH, Indiana 

JOE SESTAK, Pennsylvania 

BOBBY BRIGHT, Alabama 

PARKER GRIFFITH, Alabama 

DEBORAH HALVORSON, Illinois 

SAM GRAVES, Missouri, Ranking Member 

ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland 

W. TODD AKIN, Missouri 

STEVE KING, Iowa 

LYNN A. WESTMORELAND, Georgia 

LOUIE GOHMERT, Texas 

MARY FALLIN, Oklahoma 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida 

BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri 

AARON SCHOCK, Illinois 

GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania 

MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado 

MICHAEL DAY, Majority Staff Director 

ADAM MINEHARDT, Deputy Staff Director 

TIM SLATTERY, Chief Counsel 

KAREN HAAS, Minority Staff Director 

(II) 

STANDING SUBCOMMITTEES 

Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology 

GLENN NYE, Virginia, Chairman 

YVETTE CLARKE, New York 

BRAD ELLSWORTH, Indiana 

KURT SCHRADER, Oregon 

DEBORAH HALVORSON, Illinois 

MELISSA BEAN, Illinois 

JOE SESTAK, Pennsylvania 

PARKER GRIFFITH, Alabama 

AARON SCHOCK, Illinois, Ranking 

ROSCOE BARTLETT, Maryland 

W. TODD AKIN, Missouri 

MARY FALLIN, Oklahoma 

GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania 

Subcommittee on Finance and Tax 

KURT SCHRADER, Oregon, Chairman 

DENNIS MOORE, Kansas 

ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona 

MELISSA BEAN, Illinois 

JOE SESTAK, Pennsylvania 

DEBORAH HALVORSON, Illinois 

GLENN NYE, Virginia 

MICHAEL MICHAUD, Maine 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida, Ranking 

STEVE KING, Iowa 

W. TODD AKIN, Missouri 

BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri 

MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado 

Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight 

JASON ALTMIRE, Pennsylvania, Chairman 

HEATH SHULER, North Carolina 

BRAD ELLSWORTH, Indiana 

PARKER GRIFFITH, Alabama 

MARY FALLIN, Oklahoma, Ranking 

LOUIE GOHMERT, Texas 

(III) 

Subcommittee on Regulations and Healthcare 

KATHY DAHLKEMPER, Pennsylvania, Chairwoman 

DAN LIPINSKI, Illinois 

PARKER GRIFFITH, Alabama 

MELISSA BEAN, Illinois 

JASON ALTMIRE, Pennsylvania 

JOE SESTAK, Pennsylvania 

BOBBY BRIGHT, Alabama 

LYNN WESTMORELAND, Georgia, Ranking 

STEVE KING, Iowa 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida 

GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania 

MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado 

Subcommittee on Rural Development, Entrepreneurship and Trade 

HEATH SHULER, North Carolina, Chairman 

MICHAEL MICHAUD, Maine 

BOBBY BRIGHT, Alabama 

KATHY DAHLKEMPER, Pennsylvania 

ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona 

YVETTE CLARKE, New York 

BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri, Ranking 

STEVE KING, Iowa 

AARON SCHOCK, Illinois 

GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania 

(IV) 

C O N T E N T S 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Page 

Vela ́zquez, Hon. Nydia M. ....................................................................................... 1 

Graves, Hon. Sam .................................................................................................... 2 

WITNESSES 

Spoa, Sr., Mr. Christy, President, Ellwood City Save-A-Lot, Ellwood City, 

Pennsylvania, on behalf of Food Marketing Institute ....................................... 3 

Mayes, Ms. Meredith, Digital Solutions Manager, Colorcraft of Virginia, Sterling, Virginia, on behalf of Printing Industries of America .............................. 5 

Uhl, Uhl, Mr. Arthur, Fitzsimons & Jewett, PLLC, San Antonio, Texas, 

on behalf of National Cattlemen’s Beef Association .......................................... 7 

Neese, Ms. Terry, Distinguished Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis .. 9 

APPENDIX 

Prepared Statements: 

Vela ́zquez, Hon. Nydia M. ....................................................................................... 18 

Graves, Hon. Sam .................................................................................................... 20 

Spoa, Sr., Mr. Christy, President, Ellwood City Save-A-Lot, Ellwood City, 

Pennsylvania, on behalf of Food Marketing Institute ....................................... 22 

Mayes, Ms. Meredith, Digital Solutions Manager, Colorcraft of Virginia, Sterling, Virginia, on behalf of Printing Industries of America .............................. 27 

Uhl, Uhl, Mr. Arthur, Fitzsimons & Jewett, PLLC, San Antonio, Texas, 

on behalf of National Cattlemen’s Beef Association .......................................... 33 

Neese, Ms. Terry, Distinguished Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis .. 36 

Statements for the Record: 

Clarke, Hon. Yvette D. ............................................................................................ 40 

Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. ............................................................. 43 

Printing Industries of America ............................................................................... 44 

Small Business Council of America ........................................................................ 46 

International Franchise Association ...................................................................... 54 

Society of American Florists ................................................................................... 55 

Imperial Lithographics, Phoenix, AZ ..................................................................... 57 

Marc Nelson Oil Products, Salem, OR ................................................................... 59 

RFI Enterprises, San Jose, CA ............................................................................... 61 

Grande Harvest Wines, New York, NY ................................................................. 63 

Simkins-Hallin, Inc., Bozeman, MT ....................................................................... 65 

Mavar Shrimp & Oyster Co. Inc., Biloxi, MS ........................................................ 69 

(V) 

(1) 

FULL COMMITTEE HEARING ON SMALL 

BUSINESS AND THE ESTATE TAX: 

IDENTIFYING REFORMS TO MEET THE NEEDS 

OF SMALL FIRMS AND FAMILY FARMERS 

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 1:05 p.m., in Room 

2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Nydia Vela ́zquez 

[chairwoman of the Committee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Vela ́zquez, Dahlkemper, Schrader, Nye, 

Altmire, Bright, Griffith, Graves, Fallin, Luetkemeyer, and Thompson. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. [Presiding.] I call this hearing of the 

House Small Business Committee to order. 

For many, starting a successful business and seeing it grow is 

the cornerstone of the American dream. As the daughter of an entrepreneur, I saw firsthand what my family had to do to keep a 

small business afloat. With big ideas for the future and limited resources to call upon, I know that starting and running your own 

venture for many entrepreneurs is a family affair. 

It is not surprising then that many small-business owners imagine passing along the farm or business they have built to a child 

or grandchild to carry on the family trade. But for many parents 

who have spent their whole lives working to leave their business 

to their children, the estate tax can threaten the dream of having 

a son or daughter follow in their footsteps. 

For many family businesses, the estate tax was a hurdle too 

great to overcome as the heirs of a family farm or business suddenly found themselves in the middle of a complex outdated law. 

It closed the doors on countless viable family businesses because 

they did not have the cash on hand when the estate tax came due. 

This was especially true for many family farmers, who were forced 

to liquidate—their greatest wealth is the land they till, not the 

cash in their bank accounts. 

For small-business owners that sought to overcome these hurdles, the anxiety and costs were tremendous. After all, estate planning for small businesses is complex and costly. Entrepreneurs attempting to plan for the future had to hire costly lawyers and accountants to navigate laws, calculate their estate tax, and set aside 

funds so they could pass along the family trade. 

Even then, entrepreneurs were not guaranteed their family business or farm would survive to pass on to the next generation. One 

entrepreneur told me he spent 5 years, hundreds of thousands of 

2 

dollars for consultants, and carried a life insurance policy to protect 

his children from having to sell the family business. Despite his 

careful planning, he was still worried he may have overlooked 

something which would cost his employees their jobs if his children 

were not able to pay the estate taxes to keep their doors open. 

It is not surprising then that before estate tax reform was enacted in 2001, some 70 percent of family businesses did not survive 

into the second generation. Almost 90 percent did not make it to 

the third generation. 

While the estate tax reforms enacted in 2001 allowed entrepreneurs to focus on growing their ventures, the reforms were enacted on a temporary basis and will soon end. Starting in 2011, the 

estate tax exemptions for small businesses will expire. When they 

disappear, millions of family enterprises will again find their 

chances for survival beyond the first generation in jeopardy. 

In today’s hearing, we will examine what the future of the estate 

tax holds for small businesses. Some are calling for complete repeal 

of the estate tax; others have suggested that Congress freeze estate 

tax provisions in their 2010 form. One thing is clear: We will need 

to find a solution. 

Small businesses face enough hurdles to succeed even without 

the estate tax as an insurmountable obstacle in their way. Children 

who inherit the family farm or firm and wish to carry on their 

trade should not be forced to sell or liquidate their business. 

Protecting the family business and farm so it can flourish into 

the next generation will also help the communities who depend on 

these enterprises for jobs and services. By crafting an estate tax 

policy that works for small businesses and family farms, entrepreneurs can focus on growing their ventures, creating the jobs and 

growth needed for long-term prosperity. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the witnesses 

for being here. I am glad that they were able to make this trip to 

Washington to be with us this afternoon and look forward to the 

hearing from them—or to hear from you. 

With that, I will yield to Ranking Member Graves for his opening 

statement. 

Mr. GRAVES. Madam Chair, I appreciate it very much, and I also 

want to join you in thanking our witnesses for coming today, and 

some of you from a long way, but I do appreciate you taking the 

time out of your schedule to be here. 

Entrepreneurs are struggling, and they are responding to a very 

difficult economy by working to expand and create jobs at a time 

of high unemployment. Now they are threatened with additional 

regulations, mandates, and tax increases to pay for health care and 

additional government spending. The last thing that they need is 

the possibility of losing their businesses. Yet if Congress fails to act 

before 2011, family businesses and entrepreneurs may find their 

companies at risk. 

Current law, which would phase out the estate tax for those who 

pass away in 2010 only, is scheduled to sunset January 1, 2011. 

If Congress does nothing, the top marginal estate tax rate of 55 

percent and an exemption of just $1 million would again take effect 

in 2011. 

3 

Small businesses and farms are often operated by families and 

transferred from one family member to the next. These entrepreneurs frequently return any savings right back into their businesses by purchasing valuable equipment or land needed to operate 

the company. 

In the case of a small company or a farm, although the assets 

are transferred after a descendant’s death may be valuable, the 

heir’s net worth or liquidity may not be high. The heir, facing a 50 

percent estate tax bill, may be forced to sell vital equipment or 

land just to pay the tax, rendering the business inoperable. The net 

effect is the reduction of capital formation for productivity and 

business expansion. 

Death should not be a taxable event. The notion that the federal 

government is owed anything upon the death of a family member 

is outrageous to me. 

Before current law sunsets at the end of 2010, Congress must 

act. I support a full repeal of the estate tax, and I have introduced 

legislation, H.R. 664, to make the 2001 and 2003 tax relief, including the estate tax phase-out, permanent. But the fact that there is 

uncertainty in the law makes it very difficult for small-business 

owners and farmers to plan, and we cannot allow these entrepreneurs to risk their future or their companies. 

Madam Chair, again, I want to thank you for holding this hearing, and I appreciate and look forward to the testimony. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Thank you. 

The chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. 

Altmire, for the purpose of introducing our first witness. 

Mr. ALTMIRE. Thank you, Madam Chair. And welcome to all of 

our witnesses, especially my constituent, Mr. Spoa. Mr. Christy 

Spoa is the president of Ellwood City Save-a-Lot, located in 

Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. Mr. Spoa’s company is family-owned 

and was started over 90 years ago. 

He is testifying on behalf of the Food Marketing Institute. FMI 

represents more than 1,500 food retailers and wholesalers worldwide. 

Welcome, Mr. Spoa. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Your mic is not on. Thank you. 

STATEMENT OF CHRISTY SPOA 

Mr. SPOA. —thank you—and members of the Committee. Thank 

you for inviting me to testify about the impact of the estate tax on 

small businesses. 

My name is Christy Spoa, Senior, and I am the president of the 

Ellwood City Save-a-Lot in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. We have 

been a family-owned business for 91 years and are proud of the relations we have built with our customers and our community. 

I am pleased to say that the fourth generation of Spoas will carry 

on this tradition. Three of my children work with me at the Savea-Lot and will eventually run the company. 

Operating a supermarket is a demanding undertaking that requires long hours and dedication, but they have tackled these challenges with creativity and enthusiasm. I take great pride in knowing that I am leaving the business in good hands. 

4 

However, the existence of the estate tax makes planning this succession harder than it should be. For a number of years, I have 

worked with my industry association, the Food Marketing Institute, to advocate for the repeal of this unfair tax. 

I hoped the 2001 reforms would be the first steps in this process. 

But the situation it created by having the tax disappear next year 

before snapping back to as much as 55 percent in 2011 has made 

estate planning nearly impossible. 

I continue to hope that Congress will repeal the tax or eliminate 

it for companies to stay in the family, but right now, businesses 

like mine need certainty and predictability. 

The estate tax hits family-owned businesses when they are at 

their weakest, following the death of the head of the company. This 

period can turn into a nightmare for families that have not adequately prepared. I can only imagine how painful it must be to 

have to sell off all or part of a once-thriving family business in 

order to pay the estate tax. 

Supermarket owners tend to be asset-rich in terms of buildings, 

equipment and stock, but cash poor. Even single-store operator can 

quickly find themselves exceeding the current exemption levels, 

and multi-store companies can easily exceed $10 million. 

It is exceedingly difficult for companies like mine and others in 

the industry to withdraw significant amounts of cash to pay the estate tax. And since I operate a single store, selling off part of the 

business to raise funds is not an option. No one wants to leave that 

as a legacy for their children. 

So in order to protect against the cost of the tax, I carry a life 

insurance policy that would help my family cover the expense of 

compliance, should anything happen to me. Similarly, I have spent 

countless hours with lawyers and accountants to plan for the orderly transition of leadership from myself to my children. 

The estate tax makes this process infinitely more complicated, 

and it will even be more complex once my children take over, since 

there will now be three owners. They will also have to spend a significant amount of money to make sure that unforeseen circumstances do not threaten the viability of the business and their 

ability to leave it to the next generation. So I am not just passing 

on the company, but the cost of estate planning, as well. 

Some might argue that this is the cost of doing business. But 

every dollar that goes toward insurance premiums and estate planning is a dollar not invested in my business. It is money taken 

from job creation, increased wages, and better benefits. Right now, 

I have 25 employees, and they bear the brunt of this tax just as 

much as my family do. 

In the 91 years we have been in business, I would guess we have 

employed over 1,000 people at one time or another. Where are 

these jobs going to come from if family businesses are weakened or 

sold to cover the cost of the tax? It can be easy to ignore this impact, but for communities that are struggling to create good jobs, 

it is a question that needs to be answered. 

At the start of my testimony, I mentioned that I have been advocating for years to repeal this tax. It is my belief that it simply 

does more harm than good. Both the industry and I recognize that 

this is a difficult task and have worked to support reasonable comVerDate Aug 31 2005 18:16 Dec 14, 2009 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 G:\CLERKS~1\HEARINGS\TRANSC~1\53451.TXT DARIEN
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promises when they are offered. But I continue to believe that repeal is the best solution and the best way to make sure that small 

and family-owned businesses continue to thrive and create jobs. 

For individually owned and operated grocery stores like mine, 

the estate tax is a constant source of anxiety that has real consequences for my family, my employees, and the day-to-day operations of my business. I do not have the cash or assets on hand to 

simply write the government a check, so I have spent years and 

thousands of dollars to plan for the worst. But no matter how much 

I spend, I always wonder, have I done enough? 

Thank you for inviting me to testify, and I will be happy to answer any questions. 

[The statement of Mr. Spoa is included in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Spoa. 

Our next witness is Ms. Meredith Mayes. She is the digital solutions manager of ColorCraft of Virginia, located in Sterling, Virginia. ColorCraft is a family-owned, high-end commercial digital 

printing company. Ms. Mayes testifying on behalf of Printing Industries of American. PIA is the world’s largest graphic arts trade 

association, representing an industry with approximately 1 million 

employees. 

You have 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF MEREDITH MAYES 

Ms. MAYES. Chairwoman Vela ́zquez, Ranking Member Graves, 

and members of the Committee, good afternoon, and thank you for 

inviting me to testify today. My name is Meredith Mayes, and I 

work as a digital solutions manager at ColorCraft of Virginia, a 

commercial printing company. 

I represent the second generation of the company. My father, Jim 

Mayes, acquired ColorCraft in 1986 and grew it from a 23-employee shop to one with nearly 98 employees at its peak. We currently employ 51 workers, including my mother, who—in the traditional mom-and-pop sense of small business—oversees the company’s accounting. 

Through all of the ups and downs, our company has always remained true to its family atmosphere. Our longest serving employee has been with us for 23 years. We know that this term is 

more than just company culture; it is a commitment to jobs and 

growth for our family, but also for those families who depend on 

ColorCraft for their livelihoods. That is why the estate tax is a tremendous concern for us and for thousands of printers across the 

country. 

According to the Printing Industries of America, of which 

ColorCraft is a proud member, 6 out of 10 printing companies are 

family-owned. In total, there are approximately 17,000 familyowned plants in the United States, and they employ close to 

600,000 workers. The uncertain future of the estate tax is top of 

mind for nearly all of these firms. 

At ColorCraft, I have watched my father spend numerous hours 

and dollars attempting to ensure the longevity of a company he 

works so hard to keep afloat and growing. Annually, we spend 

$5,000 on estate tax planning. All told, we have spent $730,000. 

Our company would much rather have reinvested that $730,000 to 

6 

fund sales training, technical education, and debt reduction, all of 

which would benefit the entire ColorCraft family and the jobs we 

provide. 

On that note, job creation should definitely be part of an estate 

tax discussion. The printing industry has lost 73,000 jobs since 

mid-2008. Family-owned small businesses are critical to the revival 

of our economy, and an estate tax that soaks up financial resources 

and negatively impacts job creation is very troubling. 

This is especially true, as a 2006 Joint Economic Committee report stated that the revenue raised by the death tax amounts to 

only 1.2 percent of total federal revenues. 

There are non-economic costs to the estate tax, too. Small businesses are known for community service. And, trust me, a local 

printer is often the first stop for every local club, school, and charity seeking an in-kind donation. 

For instance, ColorCraft supports local educational programs, including Head Start and the Monroe Technology Center in Leesburg, Virginia. An estate tax that threatens small-business survival also threatens non-profit and community support. 

So what can Congress do to ensure that the estate tax doesn’t 

continue to be an albatross on small printers’ necks as we seek to 

survive and grow? In my opinion, a full, outright and permanent 

repeal of this tax is the best solution. The next best-case scenario 

is permanent reform. 

One reform idea is the Estate Tax Relief Act of 2009, introduced 

by Rep. Shelley Berkley and others, which would phase in the estate tax exemption levels over 10 years to $5 million, while also decreasing the tax rate to 35 percent. This particular adjustment of 

exemption levels and rates, if indexed for inflation and made permanent, would relieve approximately 80 percent of family-owned 

printers from both the destructive planning and payment of the estate tax. 

This approach is one our industry would welcome and support, 

though a higher starting exemption level and a shortened timeframe would provide more practical relief. 

I would add a note of caution regarding top exemption levels. I 

urge Congress to be mindful that capital-intensive industries like 

printing have non-cash assets that add up very quickly in spite of 

depreciation schedules. For example, our most recent equipment 

purchase was a printing press at $3.8 million. 

Additionally, many family-owned printers strive to own rather 

than lease their plants, which also adds to the estate tax calculation. What may sound like a lot of money on paper doesn’t always 

translate to cash on hand. 

As stated previously, I manage the digital printing side of my 

family’s business. My father and many of his generational peers 

have an expertise in traditional ink-on-paper printing, an area of 

the industry that is expected to have less than 1 percent annual 

sales growth between now and 2020. In contrast, digital printing 

is expected to have 133 percent sales growth by 2020. 

As I network with second-and third-generation printers across 

the country, many of us are driving the digital expertise and, therefore, driving the future growth of the entire industry. My generation wants the chance to lead our family-owned businesses into the 

7 

future. I hope fervently that Congress will act upon the problem of 

the estate tax issue to allow ColorCraft and other printers to continue growing, succeeding, and reaching our full potential. 

Again, thank you for holding today’s hearing and for inviting me 

to testify. I look forward to answering any questions you may have. 

[The statement of Ms. Mayes is included in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Thank you, Ms. Mayes. 

Our next witness is Mr. Arthur Uhl. He is an attorney and 

founding partner of Uhl, Fitzsimons & Jewett law firm in San Antonio, Texas. The law firm focuses on real estate, business and energy law matters. Mr. Uhl is also a cattle rancher and producer. 

He is testifying on behalf of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a marketing organization and trade association for a million 

cattle farmers and ranchers. 

Welcome. 

STATEMENT OF ARTHUR UHL 

Mr. UHL. Madam Chair, Ranking Member Graves, and members 

of this Committee, my name is Arthur Uhl, and I am a rancher, 

cow producer, and attorney from San Antonio, Texas. I am testifying on behalf of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the 

NCBA, which is the largest and oldest national organization representing America’s cattlemen and cattlewomen. 

As chairman of NCBA’s tax and credit policy Committee, I can 

testify that the repeal or fundamental reform of our federal estate 

tax system is at the heart of NCBA’s mission, and we believe it is 

critical to the long-term viability of our industry. 

I appreciate your Committee raising awareness of the tremendous burden that the estate tax places on America’s farmers and 

ranchers. Ninety-seven percent of American farms and ranchers 

are owned and operated by families, many of which have owned 

their properties for generations. To a small-and medium-sized operation, this tax can be a death sentence. Thank you for holding this 

hearing and bringing cattlemen to the table. 

Tax policy is a key factor impacting American cattle producers, 

particularly in today’s difficult business climate. In an industry 

where financial returns are historically small, we depend upon the 

ability to pass on a farm or ranch to the next generation without 

exhausting resources for arduous planning or being forced to break 

apart economically viable operations. We view the estate tax as 

fundamentally unfair, inefficient, economically stifling, and particularly devastating to our business, which requires highly valued assets to produce minimal economic returns. 

Cattle producers understand and appreciate the role of taxes in 

maintaining and improving our nation, but they also believe the 

most effective tax code is a fair one. For this reason, NCBA members fundamentally disagree with the taxing of assets that have already been taxed, sometimes two and three times over. In the eyes 

of American farmers and ranchers, death should not be a taxable 

event, either for the estate or for the heirs. 

The current onerous estate tax system is also at odds with our 

important national goals of preserving natural resources and open 

space. Family farms and ranches provide an abundant and necessary source of food and fiber to feed the growing global popuVerDate Aug 31 2005 18:16 Dec 14, 2009 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 G:\CLERKS~1\HEARINGS\TRANSC~1\53451.TXT DARIEN
8 

lation, as well as Americans right here at home. Not only are they 

producing nutritious food, America’s farmers and ranchers are taking care of the land, air and water that make our way of life possible. 

The death tax breaks up farm and ranch land and displaces family generational farms and ranches, expediting their conversion to 

strip malls and condo complexes and doing a great disservice to the 

American public and our rural way of life. 

All family businesses would like to see this tax go away, and historically the cattlemen have fought for full repeal of the estate tax. 

But our members recognize full repeal may not be an option at this 

time, so we are simply asking Congress to reform the estate tax to 

give relief and certainty to dedicated farming and ranching families 

who continue to work and preserve the land. 

The minimal amount of progress which has been made is at risk 

of being undone. Currently, the estate tax rate is set at 45 percent 

for estate assets exceeding $3.5 million in value, or $7 million per 

couple. The president’s proposed budget would freeze the estate tax 

at these levels so they could be dealt with at a later date. If Congress does nothing, in 2011, the exemption amount and tax rate 

will revert to staggering pre-2001 tax levels, meaning estate assets 

exceeding $1 million would be taxed at the 55 percent rate. 

When you factor in land and equipment, not to mention rising 

property values, it is clear that most farms and ranches would easily exceed the million-dollar threshold. This is a value that most 

farmers and ranchers will never see in terms of cash, as it is tied 

up in productive assets, which we hope to pass down to the next 

generation. 

An estate tax exemption of agricultural lands is an optimal way 

to diminish the devastating effects of the estate tax on family 

ranching operations. Farm and ranch land market values continue 

to increase based on many things, including their proximity to 

urban sprawl. In most cases, this inflated market value is the basis 

for assessing the death tax, resulting in the need to liquidate productive agricultural assets in order to keep what we can. 

Indexing for inflation is absolutely critical in countering escalating land values, and stepped-up basis provisions are imperative 

when those assets have been levied with the tax. NCBA has supported recent legislative proposals to increase the exemption levels 

and decrease the rate of taxation. 

For these reasons, it is our recommendation that Congress act 

swiftly to bring further reform to the death tax. We urge you to 

work with Chairman Rangel and the Ways and Means Committee 

to include the reform ideas laid out in Representative Berkley’s 

bill, as well as the adoption of the agricultural exemption contained 

in the Thompson-Salazar bill, because, at the end of the day, all 

we really want is to keep our farms and ranches in production. 

We need farms and ranches to stay whole and be passed down 

from generation to generation in order to take care of the land, feed 

our country, feed the world, and maintain our way of life. 

NCBA appreciates the House Small Business Committee holding 

this hearing, and U.S. cattle producers need your leadership and 

look forward to continuing dialogue on this important issue. 

[The statement of Mr. Uhl is included in the appendix.] 

9 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Thank you, Mr. Uhl. 

The chair recognizes Ms. Fallin for the purpose of introducing 

our next witness. 

Ms. FALLIN. All right. Thank you, Madam Chair. It is a great 

pleasure to be able to introduce one of my long-term friends and 

a woman that is very highly respected in Oklahoma, and that is 

Terry Neese. Terry, welcome. It is good to have you here in front 

of our Small Business Committee. 

Ms. Neese has served as a distinguished fellow at the National 

Center for Policy Analysis. In this role, she develops ideas to help 

small-business owners make better financial and health care decisions. She is the owner of a small business, a family farm, and has 

founded several organizations to educate and train small-business 

owners. 

Ms. Neese has been recognized by Fortune magazine as one of 

the power 30 most influential small-business women in Washington, and Inc. magazine has named her as one of four top advocates for entrepreneurs in the United States. So we are thrilled 

today that she was able to make time in her schedule to join us 

from Oklahoma. 

And welcome, Terry. It is good to have you here. 

STATEMENT OF TERRY NEESE 

Ms. NEESE. Thank you. It is good to be with you. Thank you, 

Congresswoman Fallin. 

And, Madam Chairwoman, good to see you. It has been a while. 

And I appreciate you holding this important hearing. 

Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me and giving 

me the opportunity to discuss the detrimental impact of the estate 

tax on small business and their families. 

Today, I am speaking on behalf of the National Center for Policy 

Analysis, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization dedicated to developing and promoting private alternatives to 

government regulation and control. The NCPA recently started the 

Family Policy Center, where we focus on finding private solutions 

to issues faced by women, families, and small business. They are 

headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and I live and work in Oklahoma. 

Support for the estate tax is based on three major claims: first, 

inheritances are a major source of wealth inequality; second, the 

tax provides significant revenue for the federal government; and, 

third, the individuals required to pay the tax can easily afford it. 

These are, however, all myths. Not only the rich, but lower-and 

middle-class Americans, especially small-business owners, should 

be concerned if the estate tax is not repealed or maintained permanently. 

It is a common assumption that inheritances are a major source 

of wealth inequality. And an NCPA study shows that only 17 percent of wealth for the top 1 percent wealth came from bequests. In 

actuality, individual skills and personal choices are far more important in determining household wealth. 

Because inheritances are only a minor factor determining the 

wealth distribution among retirees, using the estate tax as redistributive mechanism is unlikely to have a significant effect on that 

distribution. In fact, it may be self-defeating if it slows capital forVerDate Aug 31 2005 18:16 Dec 14, 2009 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 G:\CLERKS~1\HEARINGS\TRANSC~1\53451.TXT DARIEN
10 

mation. The resulting increase in capital returns would make the 

rich even richer. 

The second myth, the tax provides significant revenue for the 

federal government, in fact, it makes up 1 percent to 3 percent of 

federal tax revenue. It slows capital formation, reducing tax revenues, lowering wages, employment, federal payroll, and income tax 

revenues. 

And according to the Heritage Foundation, if the estate tax were 

repealed, the U.S. economy would average as much as $11 billion 

per year in extra output, and an average of 145,000 new jobs per 

year could be created, and personal income could rise by an average of $8 billion annually above current projections. 

The third myth and final one is the individuals required to pay 

the tax can easily afford it. It is important to understand that the 

burden of the tax falls on the recipient, not the giver. Middle-class 

Americans, especially small-business owners, are often stuck with 

a burdensome estate. Small-business owners and family farmers 

generally have large investments in infrastructure. Many don’t 

have large capital assets that can be used to pay the tax. And, 

therefore, many heirs have to liquidate the farm or shut the doors 

on the family business to pay the estate tax. 

The NCPA views the estate tax as anti-family, because it does 

not allow a parent to pass their hard work and their wealth, if they 

have any wealth, to their children. It is anti-farm, because farms 

are especially vulnerable because they hold vast amounts of land 

which are subject to the estate tax as they are passed from generation to generation. And it is anti-small business. It hurts small 

businesses that don’t enjoy the same tax shelters and benefits as 

large corporations. 

As Congresswoman Fallin said, I have been involved in smallbusiness issues for more than 30 years, serving as a national president of the National Association of Women Business Owners, 

owner of my own business, and today as a distinguished fellow at 

the National Center for Policy Analysis. 

So, on behalf of the NCPA and the many small-business owners 

like me and families that might be affected by the actions of this 

Committee, I am in hopes that you will look at this, as small-business owners are the job-creators of this country, and we will lead 

us out of the recession as we did in 2001. They don’t need any more 

taxes, not now, and not when they die. 

Thank you very much. And I look forward to your questions. 

[The statement of Ms. Neese is included in the appendix.] 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Thank you. There is going to be a series of seven votes coming up. I am not going to be asking questions in this round, and I am going to recognize the rest of the 

members that are here, and then we will go into recess, and I will 

come back and ask my questions. 

So, Mr. Graves? 

Mr. GRAVES. I will defer, too, Madam Chair. I don’t think there 

is anything that could be said or any question that I could ask that 

would get me to be more against the estate tax. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Mr. Griffith? 

11 

Mr. GRIFFITH. Madam Chair, thank you for holding this hearing. 

We appreciate so much your comments. I hope that we can translate that and transfer it into the floor of the House and make something happen so that our hard-earned tax dollars are not planning 

to try to avoid an estate tax in the future. It is a major, major problem and a major difficulty, and we appreciate, Madam Chair, holding this hearing and certainly you all for being here. Thank you. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Mr. Luetkemeyer? 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

I would just ask a couple of brief questions. I think we are all 

in agreement here. This is an issue that we are all in agreement 

on. This is a really big problem for small businesses. As a smallbusiness person myself, I have seen our family have to go through 

this discussion of how we can succeed or pass down businesses 

from one to the other. 

I know, Mr. Spoa, you talked a little bit about some of the problems in planning. You had the importance of life insurance in that. 

But it—you also made the comment about—it is extremely difficult 

to try and make a long-term plan on estates with this constant 

changing of the rules and every year, having to go back and redo 

this. 

Can you give some examples or experiences on the difficulty of 

doing this and the cost that is involved in trying to go back—and 

trying to revise this and protect this group this time and that asset 

this next time—moving target, isn’t it? 

Mr. SPOA. Yes, it is. It is a moving target. And it becomes more 

difficult, I think, for my children that are taking over the business, 

because there are three of them involved, and they have to worry 

about the other two. I really only have to worry about myself, up 

to certain point, until these children decided they wanted to take 

over and stay in the business. 

They have to continually plan for each of them and what they 

have—what if something happens to one of them? What happens 

to the business? So they have had to invest in insurance policies. 

And the joke is sort of, if anybody is going to die, better do it next 

year, because then we can pass on. We don’t have to worry about 

it. 

But it is a moving target. I mean, you have to sit down with the 

accountants. You have to sit down with the tax planners. You have 

to sit down with the attorneys. And you do it every year— 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. It is a cost that you have to incur that you 

have to incur, is it not? 

Mr. SPOA. Right, it is a cost. 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Do you have an idea of roughly what your 

costs are or what the average cost is for people to comply? 

Mr. SPOA. I think I will go along with what the young lady next 

to me said, it was roughly around $5,000 a year. We may be a little 

higher than that, but I hate—I hesitate to guess without knowing 

for sure. But it is probably, I would say, between $5,000 and 

$10,000 a year. 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Okay. 

Ms. Mayes, you made the comment about, you know, printing industry is very—it is unlike the cattlemen industry or the cattle inVerDate Aug 31 2005 18:16 Dec 14, 2009 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 G:\CLERKS~1\HEARINGS\TRANSC~1\53451.TXT DARIEN
12 

dustry over here, which you can sell off a number of acres to do 

this. It is hard to sell your printing press— 

Ms. MAYES. That is right. 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. —you know, to kind of divide that up and, 

you know, throw off this part and that part. I mean, when you buy 

a huge asset like that, which is probably 50 percent to 60 percent 

of all your assets, are all tied up, or your money—your capital is 

tied up in one asset, it makes it difficult to try to sell off parts in 

order to be able to keep the whole. 

Not that farming is not an industry that it is easy to accommodate estate taxes. I mean, that is also incumbent on the way you 

generate cash. But it really causes a problem for the printing industry, does it not? 

Ms. MAYES. Yes, it is a very capital-expensive industry. I mean, 

one press is $3 million. We have three large presses and all of the 

small equipment, as well, everything, it is just very capital-intensive industry. 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. It really affects everybody differently, like I 

say, under the capital—with the cattle industry here, you know, if 

you sell off too much land, suddenly it doesn’t make your farm productive enough to maintain and to be able to stay in business, I 

would guess, Mr. Uhl. Is that correct? 

Mr. UHL. Excuse me? 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. When talking about, if you have to sell off 

some of your property, it makes it difficult to try and cash flow 

your business. You are usually set up so you—the size of your business is—the activities that you have on your property is conducive 

to the size of the total ranch. 

Mr. UHL. Absolutely. A critical mass is absolutely necessary in 

our business. And when you have to sell off part of your land, that 

obviously impacts your economic viability. 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Right. 

Ms. Neese, just a real quick one for you. You were talking about 

the negative impact on economic activity. And I thought that was 

an interesting comment from the standpoint that actually the estate tax is a restraint on economic activity. That is an interesting 

comment. Can you elaborate on this a little bit? 

Ms. NEESE. Well, I think it is because of—especially if you are 

a farmer, the infrastructure and the cash assets that you have, it 

is a detriment to employment, to wages, to revenues, federal revenues, if you look at it as a detriment. 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Just expansion in general, I would guess. 

Ms. NEESE. Exactly. 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Yes. And if you have to sell off part of your 

assets, you have got less to leverage if you want to expand or improve your business, I would take it. 

Ms. NEESE. Exactly. And one other quick comment from my perspective, in my business, I own a human resources firm in Oklahoma City. And we spent anywhere from around $5,000 to $7,500 

a year. And we have been doing that now for 20 years. And the uncertainty is one of the biggest problems. We need permanent fix. 

And that will help all small-business owners. It will help us create 

more jobs. It will be so—the burden that will be released would be 

a huge one for us. 

13 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Thank you for your comments. My time is up. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Mr. Schrader? 

Mr. SCHRADER. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

I guess a question for Mr. Uhl, maybe Ms. Neese, in terms of the 

farmers, I am a farmer, and also I have a small business. And I 

am very concerned about, you know, my estate and being able to 

pass things onto my kids. Any rough estimates, in terms of sizes, 

particularly of the average—you know, such as it is farm or ranch, 

where they would fall in the different proposals that are being discussed in terms of, you know, estate value, what percentage of 

farms, what percent of ranches are about $3.5 million, above $5 

million, or below those numbers, that sort of thing? 

Mr. UHL. To our knowledge, there is no hard economic data that 

will tell you an exact percentage of farms or ranches that will come 

within the standard. Certainly, if the exemption rate goes down to 

a million dollars, many, many more will come in. 

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service in the 

USDA, the average beef operation was 573 acres, and the average 

operation also had 40 cows. Also, the average profitability over a 

30-year average was $30 per head. So what that would lead you 

to, I believe, economically would be that that average beef operation would average about $1,200 in profitability per year for that 

573-acre average. 

So I guess what that really tells you is that there are many people in the industry who are not in the industry full time, that it 

is merely on a part-time basis. For those of us who are in the business full time, many more acres are involved. 

Again, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, 

in 2009, the average pasture value per acre was $1,070. In 2003, 

that was $605. So during that 4-year period, the average per-acre 

value went up 77 percent, which shows you how rapidly these values have been escalating. 

Of course, that is of no use to us in the business, because we 

don’t intend to sell our land. We would like to pass it along. So that 

is why this issue is so important to us. 

Mr. SCHRADER. Ms. Neese, any comments along the same lines? 

Ms. NEESE. Just a personal experience. My family farm has been 

in our family for 100 years. My grandfather started the farm, 

passed it down to my father, and two other siblings. They ended 

up having to sell part of their land. It was a big problem for my 

father. I ended up purchasing the farm from my father to create 

less complications for him and giving him a life estate on the farm 

until his passing. 

So that is just an example of some of the things. And I have to 

tell you, this was back when the—was charging 20 percent interest 

rates. So I got my father out of that and paid it off for him. 

So these are some of the things personally that I have been 

through in terms of trying to deal with passing the farm off generation to generation. We are in Cotton County, Oklahoma, and because it is a 100-year-old farm, I would love to keep it in my name. 

Mr. SCHRADER. Thank you very much. 

Just a comment, Madam Chair, that I think it is a nice, great, 

bipartisan bill that we could maybe get behind, and I hope this 

14 

Committee will look favorably on it. We are actually getting something maybe from the Senate at end of this week or next week, 

whenever the Senate ever gets anything done, that is going to be 

spending a lot more for relief for our different businesses. I can’t 

think of any better expense is to take care of this, and the $28 billion or whatever would pale in comparison to the benefit for American farmers and American small businesses. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Mr. Thompson? 

Mr. THOMPSON. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

Thank you to the panel for your testimony today. 

Mr. Spoa, it is good to have another Pennsylvanian here. And I 

wanted to start out with—just wanted to ask you, you talked about 

your family-owned company has provided jobs for many people over 

the years. And what are the kind of jobs that will disappear if 

small businesses must be sold to pay estate taxes? And are you 

concerned that the jobs won’t be created to fill that void? 

Mr. SPOA. Well, the jobs that are filled by the retail grocery industry, you have well-paying jobs in the meat department, the bakeries, the delis, produce managers, front-end manager. These are 

all well-paying jobs that people actually support families on. 

Now, a lot of your part-time workers are the high school students 

who get their first job, can learn a little bit about what it is like 

to have to go to work every day, to follow a schedule, learn how 

to take orders from your supervisors, and learn how to interact 

with the consumer, and just generally learn a little bit about life 

in general, rather than just the book-learning that they receive in 

school. 

So those are the jobs that would be lost, along with what every 

small retailer does for their community as a whole. 

Mr. THOMPSON. Can you tell me a little bit about that, in terms 

of how it would impact the surrounding community and the economy, give me some examples? 

Mr. SPOA. Ellwood is a small community. Businesses support the 

local hospital. Businesses support the local Distributive Education 

Clubs of America’s program. Businesses support churches and all 

the clubs that go along with the churches, the bingos and the dinners that the churches throw. They support the bans from the high 

school. I mean, you name it, and small business is there to support, 

every business in relationship to what they can afford to help, but 

they all help. They all do something for their community. 

And if they are gone, where is the community going to get— 

where are they going to get that—who is going to provide those 

services for them? 

Mr. THOMPSON. Okay. Thank you. 

Ms. Mayes, in your testimony, you emphasized the need for certainty in the estate tax. We have heard a little bit about that. 

Would you elaborate on why this is important? 

Ms. MAYES. It is so important for the planning phase. You know, 

I discussed that we spend $5,000 a year, total of $730,000. Most 

of that is on life insurance premiums, the life insurance premiums 

on my father, on myself, on another partner of ours, just to try and 

plan. We never know which direction it is going to go in, and that 

is why just to get a certain plan down that we can plan for now 

15 

would just be so helpful, and we wouldn’t have to go back and 

forth. 

Mr. THOMPSON. Yes, thank you. 

Mr. Uhl, in your testimony, you talked about farmers and ranchers are often multi-generation small businesses. How frequently do 

they need assistance with succession and estate planning? And 

have you seen any trends related to this issue, you know, of that 

line of farming and ranching ending, where, you know, has there 

been up to this point situations where farmers have not continued 

to the next generation because of these costs and maybe combined 

with other factors? 

Mr. UHL. Yes, absolutely, in two different ways. On account of 

farm economics now, many times in many instances, the primary 

farmer or rancher needs to take a second job, and so that sort of 

takes them out of the industry. And many times, the death tax can 

cause a requirement for a mortgage to be put on the property, 

which ultimately ends up being such a burden that it is—those economic assets are sold down the line. 

And so even though it may be 3, 4, 5 years after the death tax 

is imposed, ultimately, the land is sold on account of that, because 

there is no longer an economically viable unit intact. So, yes. 

Mr. THOMPSON. Thank you. 

And I will yield back, Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Mr. Bright? 

Ms. Fallin? 

Ms. FALLIN. Thank you, Madam Chair. I do have a couple of 

questions. 

And I, too, support eliminating the estate tax and hope we can 

accomplish that before it expires. I would like to ask Ms. Neese a 

couple of questions. Why is the estate tax more burdensome on a 

small family business than the larger ones? 

Ms. NEESE. Well, I am not sure that it is more burdensome on 

small business, other than it costs small-business owners so much 

to get into compliance and to make sure that they are able to pass 

that small business on to the next generation. 

And especially in today’s economy, a lot of small businesses are 

really hurting, and it is difficult for them to just make payroll. And 

so to know that they have got to take another $5,000 or $7,500 to 

help them with the estate tax planning is a huge lump to take out 

of their budget when they could be using those dollars to market 

and continue to sell their wares and keep themselves in business. 

Ms. FALLIN. That would make sense. And I would assume that 

those small-business owners may not have the level of expertise in 

accounting that some of the larger ones might. 

Ms. NEESE. They definitely have to have an attorney who—perhaps the large corporations have an attorney on staff and human 

resource people that the large corporations have on staff, so absolutely correct. 

Ms. FALLIN. That is good. If I could ask Mr. Spoa a question, you 

said that you carry a life insurance policy to protect your family 

against the expense of an estate tax. Can you just elaborate a little 

bit more on why it is important for companies in industries with 

low capital and small margins to have something like that? 

16 

Mr. SPOA. Well, if you want to pass your business on, you have 

to. If something would happen, there is no money there for the payment of a tax. So you really don’t have any choice. 

I guess you could say, if you don’t do it, you are setting a plan 

that really isn’t a plan. So what they say, you can have no plan 

be a plan. And if you don’t have the insurance and you don’t do 

some planning, then you are willing to let your business go and all 

the years that your parents put into it and the hours that my wife 

and I put into it and the hours that the kids are putting into that 

means nothing if you don’t buy that insurance, so that at least you 

have the cash to pay that tax. 

Ms. FALLIN. Thank you. That is very good. 

I know we are short on time, so, Madam Chairman, I will relinquish my time. Thank you very much. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Thank you. 

Mr. Nye? 

Mr. NYE. Thank you, Madam Chairman. My questions were 

largely answered. I just wanted to say thank you for coming here. 

I know it is arduous to get into Washington, but it is important for 

us to hear from you. For us to be able to make good policy, we have 

to hear from people who are on the front lines every day who are 

experiencing this, trying to keep up with the regulations, paying 

the expenses that you have talked about today, in terms of keeping 

up with all this code. 

And I just want to say: Thank you for taking the time to come 

sit here before us, because we need to see from people who are out 

there on the front line every day for us to make good decisions. So 

we appreciate you being here. 

I yield back. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Ms. Dahlkemper? 

Ms. DAHLKEMPER. Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I apologize 

for coming in late. I had another hearing. But I just want to thank 

you, also. And I don’t have any further questions at this point, so 

I appreciate your testimony today and appreciate you coming in 

front of us. 

I yield back. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Okay. So I do have a question. 

We all support your concern regarding the estate tax, but we 

have a lot of competing interests right now, and one of them is facing rising deficits and the impact this could have on our economy 

in the future. 

Estimates say that repeal will cost $1 trillion over 10 years. So 

if there is an exemption amount, a magic number that will protect 

small businesses, while taking into consideration fiscal constraints, 

what will that number be, Mr. Spoa? 

Mr. SPOA. You are talking the exemption or the tax rates? 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. The exemption. 

Mr. SPOA. The exemption. The problem with setting a set figure 

with the exemption is that may work very well today, this year or 

next year, but 5 to 10 years down the road, that number would 

mean nothing anymore. So I don’t know if you—if you really can 

set a— 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. So let me ask you this question, then. 

There are a broad array of estate tax proposals right now. And one 

17 

proposal is to make the 2009 levels of $3.5 million permanent. 

Would this provide, in the case of Mr. Uhl, farmers with the certainty they need and the necessary protection? If not, what would 

be an acceptable threshold for family farms? 

Mr. UHL. It would provide the certainty. Certainly, the higher 

the exemption level, the more people that will be employed, the 

better it will be for our economy. The current level of $3.5 million 

is insufficient for a meaningful number of members not only in our 

association, but the industry, those who produce the most beef. 

I am not prepared to tell you a number, but I can tell you, the 

higher the number, the better for our industry and the better for 

our economy. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Okay. Any other member of the panel 

would like to comment? 

Ms. NEESE. You know, Madam Chairwoman, I would love to be 

really optimistic and say how important it is that it is totally repealed and we have a permanent repeal so that we can then permanently decide what to do with our businesses, in terms of estate 

tax. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Sorry, Ms. Neese. We don’t live in a 

perfect world. 

Ms. NEESE. But I would point to, you know, some of the studies 

that have come out that have said that the economy would average 

as much as $11 billion a year in extra output. I mean, look at some 

of those. 

I just think that, to protect small business, Mr. Uhl has made 

two good points. One, we need to have something permanent. And, 

two, the higher the amount, the better. But I will keep my rosecolored glasses on and stick to total, permanent repeal. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Okay. 

Ms. Mayes? 

Ms. MAYES. Well, just $5 million would help approximately 80 

percent of the printing companies that would be relieved of this 

burden in today’s dollars and cents, but just something permanent 

so that we could plan would be great, because the most important 

thing is, I have 51 families that I have to worry about, not just my 

own. It is more important to worry about those 51 families and 

their longevity and their livelihoods. 

Chairwoman VELA ́ ZQUEZ. Okay. Well, thank you very much. And 

we will continue to listen and discuss this issue that I know is important for small businesses in America, especially at a time when 

small businesses are struggling. Thank you all for being here 

today. 

I ask unanimous consent that members will have 5 days to submit a statement and supporting materials for the record. Without 

objection, so ordered. 

This hearing is now adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 2:00 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

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