I have read stories where the main employer in a small town had a family-owned business and could not make it because they had to sell the assets of the business in order to pay inheritance taxes. In fact, the president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce has written a letter in support of this bill because he says the total net worth of African Americans is only 1.2 percent versus 14 percent of the population. The CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce supports the bill before us today. He said African Americans have been stuck at 1.2 percent of the total net worth of this country since the end of the Civil War in 1865, and that getting rid of the death tax will start to create a new legacy and begin a cycle of wealth building for blacks in this country. The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce supports the bill before us today.
Employers become ex-employers.
The economy suffers and a thriving self-supporting group of individuals vanish. This is a gut issue for small businesses in our country. The reason is that the assets of a small business are not readily sellable. The assets of a farm and a ranch are oftentimes valued at much more than their actual productivity. It is not right.