Kill the Death Tax

A particularly pernicious "temporary" tax was forced upon the American people in 1916 to help fund the American intervention into the first World War. This was the fourth time Congress had passed an "estate tax" for "defense purposes." Each time before it had been repealed shortly after hostilities ended, but by 1918, it was clear Congress had no intention of removing it.

The death tax, aside from being a form of double or even triple taxation, is a poor revenue raiser. But perhaps even worse is the economic harm it inflicts by preventing family farms and small businesses from being passed down by taxing the value of the estate owned by the recently deceased. Worse yet is that it disproportionately affects middle class small business owners, as the super-rich like Warren Buffet have enough money to hire estate planning lawyers to shield their wealth from the tax.

Earlier this Congress, 80 members of the Senate voted to "repeal or reduce" the death tax. It's up to us to convince them to fully repeal this "temporary" tax.

Yesterday, Rep. Kevin Brady (TX) and Senator John Thune introduced legislation in their respective chambers to kill the death tax, permanently.

Last Congress, C4L helped Kevin Brady's bill pick up 222 cosponsors. Campaign for Liberty is once again participating in a "Family Business Coalition" seeking full repeal of the death tax and will push for a stand-alone vote on both H.R. 2429, and S. 1183.

Below, you'll find a copy of the Family Business Coalition letter C4L signed on to supporting Brady and Thune's legislation.

Family Business Coalition Letter