Yet, when a principle dies, the family is expected to pay up to 60 percent of the asset values in cash for the estate taxes. It doesn't matter that many members of the family may have worked their entire lives building the business, making it successful and developing economies of scale. All too often, the family has no choice but to sell the business. Their money was invested in land, buildings, employees and the American dream. But thanks to the estate tax, the family business is dissolved, a heritage is destroyed.
Estate taxes hurt the economy.
While efforts continue to pass a tax bill that includes the repeal of the estate tax, legislation is pending that will start the phase out of the estate tax. As a relief measure to small business which must bear the brunt of minimum wage increased, the House provided tax offsets, including rate reduction in estate taxes. As Congress considers increasing the minimum wage, it seems reasonable that the affected employers be given relief to help offset the economic impact of the increase. Past minimum wage increases have been costly for employers. Past increases have not provided employers with offsets for these losses.