One of the most powerful incentives for people to work and to save is a desire to make life better for their children and loved ones. The death tax attempts to interfere with that basic human instinct by confiscating savings and forcing the sale of family farms and small businesses. The death tax is simply double taxation. Though small business owners, farmers, and families pay income, capital gains, and other taxes throughout their lives, the federal government again taxes the value of their property at the time of death. This has made it difficult for parents to pass family owned businesses and farms onto their children.
Families have enough concerns to cope with when a loved one dies.
The last thing a grieving family should worry about is losing the family business or farm to the Internal Revenue Service because they cannot afford the death tax. Death and taxes may be inevitable, but the tax on death should not be. The death tax has devastated too many family businesses and farms. With passage of the Death Tax Elimination Act, the House of Representatives has taken a positive step toward ending one of the most oppressive provisions of the Internal Revenue code. It is my hope the U.S. Senate will act on this important legislation soon, so the bill can be sent to the President s desk as quickly as possible.