Washington (June 20, 2003) -- By a vote of 264-163, the House passed legislation to permanently abolish taxes on estates.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce applauded lawmakers for repealing the death tax and called on the Senate to follow suit for American’s family-owned businesses and farms.
“The future prosperity and potential of a family-owned business should not be harmed by the long arm of the IRS,” said Thomas Donohue, the chamber’s president and CEO. “This is a victory for business owners, farmers and families who have faced an additional 55 percent tax on their assets.”
The chamber has long pushed for a full repeal of the death tax -- preserving the livelihood of many small business owners, protecting the jobs of their workers and looking out for the interests of local communities without a substantial revenue loss to the federal government.
“Death should not be a taxable event,” continued Donohue. “It is now up to the Senate to protect American families who have worked hard all their lives from being forced to sell their business or assets in order to pay a death tax.”
Last year, the Senate defeated a similar measure and is expected to do so again this year, arguing that the estate tax only impacts the wealthiest of taxpayers.
-- WebCPA staff
