 |
| Wilson Votes to Repeal the Death Tax to Help Small Business Owners, Farmers and Ranchers |
April 04, 2001 |
| |
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson voted today in favor of legislation that would repeal the “death tax.” The “Death Tax Elimination Act” (H.R. 8) repeals the estate, gift and generation skipping transfer tax gradually over 10 years. Currently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can take up to 60 percent of the value of a family business or farm when the owner passes away.
“Families should have the security of knowing that when a loved one passes on, the family business will stay in the family,” said Wilson. “When people work their whole lives to build a family business or farm, they want to know that their hard work will continue to help a community prosper. This tax eats away at the fabric of New Mexico’s economy, and it’s time we bury it for good.”
Butch and Wendy Zens have been involved in the dairy business all their lives and own a small dairy in rural Torrance County. Zens Dairy employs 30 people in Willard, New Mexico. The Zen family, Butch and Wendy and their four sons and daughters, welcome relief from the death tax.
“We’ve seen neighbors and good friends lose their farms and dairies because of the estate tax. You know, the estate tax gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, ‘milking the cow dry,’” says Wendy Zens. “We want to pass our dairy on to our kids. And we don’t want the good people who work for us to end up without jobs when Butch and I die. People around here really appreciate the fact that Congresswoman Wilson is working to get rid of this tax.”
The death tax was originally instituted as a temporary tax. It was first enacted in 1797 in order to fund the nation’s emerging navy and repealed in 1802. It was later re-enacted to fund national emergencies such as the Civil War and the Spanish-American War and then repealed when the crises ended. In 1916, during World War I, the death tax was signed into law as a permanent feature of our tax code.
According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), one-third of small-business owners today will have to sell outright or liquidate a part of their business to pay death taxes. Half of those who must liquidate to pay the IRS will each have to eliminate 30 or more jobs. According to the NFIB, more than 70% of family businesses do not survive the second generation and 87% do not make it to the third generation.
### |
|
|
|