Dreier Votes to Permanently Repeal Death Tax

June 18, 2003

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman David Dreier (R-CA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, voted today to make permanent the repeal of the death tax, which is set to expire on January 1, 2011. The Death Tax Permanency Act of 2003, H.R. 8, was approved with broad bipartisan support 264-163.

"Making the death tax repeal permanent is not just a matter of fairness, it would do wonders for job creation," Dreier said. "If businesses know the death tax won't be back in 2011, they can free up the money they're putting into estate planning and hire some more employees. At a time when millions of Americans are looking for a job, we should be doing everything we can to create new ones."

H.R. 8 removes the expiration or "sunset" provision of the death tax repeal from the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act of 2001 that was necessary at the time of passage due to an arcane Senate rule. In 2002, the House voted twice to make the repeal permanent but the then Democrat-controlled Senate never acted on the legislation.

Dreier vowed to continue fighting to make the repeal permanent. "This effort obviously enjoys bipartisan support, it's time to eliminate the death tax once and for all."