[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 902 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 902

 To repeal the Federal estate and gift taxes and the tax on generation-
                          skipping transfers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 3, 1997

 Mr. Cox of California (for himself, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Hall 
   of Texas, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Livingston, Mr. Bliley, Mr. Solomon, Ms. 
Molinari, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Largent, Mr. McCollum, Mr. Talent, Mr. Burton 
of Indiana, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Baker, Mr. Barr of Georgia, Mr. Bartlett of 
Maryland, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Bonilla, Mr. Bono, Mr. Bryant, Mr. Bunning, 
   Mr. Callahan, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Cannon, Mr. Canady of Florida, Mr. 
Chabot, Mr. Chambliss, Mrs. Chenoweth, Mr. Christensen, Mr. Coburn, Mr. 
 Collins, Mr. Cook, Mr. Cooksey, Mr. Crane, Mr. Crapo, Mrs. Cubin, Mr. 
 Deal of Georgia, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Dreier, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Ehrlich, 
   Mrs. Emerson, Mr. Foley, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Fox of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
   Gallegly, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Goodling, Mr. Graham, Ms. Granger, Mr. 
Hastings of Washington, Mr. Hayworth, Mr. Hefley, Mr. Herger, Mr. Hill, 
Mr. Horn, Mr. Hostettler, Mr. Hulshof, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. 
  Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. Jones, Mrs. 
Kelly, Mr. Kim, Mr. King, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Knollenberg, Mr. Kolbe, Mr. 
 LaTourette, Mr. Lewis of Kentucky, Mr. Linder, Mr. Lucas of Oklahoma, 
 Mr. McCrery, Mr. McIntosh, Mr. McHugh, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Manzullo, Mr. 
 Metcalf, Mr. Moran of Kansas, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Packard, 
Mr. Pappas, Mr. Parker, Mr. Paul, Mr. Pease, Mr. Pombo, Mr. Riggs, Mr. 
Riley, Mr. Rogan, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Royce, Mr. Ryun, Mr. Saxton, Mr. 
   Scarborough, Mr. Bob Schaffer of Colorado, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. 
  Sessions, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Skeen, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mrs. Smith of 
Washington, Mr. Smith of Michigan, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Snowbarger, 
 Mr. Stearns, Mr. Stump, Mr. Taylor of North Carolina, Mr. Walsh, Mr. 
 Watts of Oklahoma, Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania, Mr. Weldon of Florida, 
   and Mr. Young of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

                                 A BILL


 
 To repeal the Federal estate and gift taxes and the tax on generation-
                          skipping transfers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Family Heritage Preservation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that:
            (1) Hard working American men and women spend a lifetime 
        saving to provide for their children and grandchildren, paying 
        taxes all the while. Throughout their lives, they pay taxes on 
        the income and gains from their labor and their investment. 
        Because of the heavy burden of income taxes, property taxes, 
        and other levies, it is enormously difficult to accumulate 
        savings for a family's future. Worst of all, when the purpose 
        of that hard earned saving is about to be achieved, families 
        discover that between 37 percent and 55 percent of their after-
        tax savings is confiscated by Federal estate taxes.
            (2) These transfer, estate, and gift taxes punish lifelong 
        habits of thrift; they discourage entrepreneurship; they 
        penalize families; and they have a negative effect on other tax 
        revenue sources.
            (3) These taxes raise almost no material revenue for the 
        Federal Government. In fiscal year 1996, they produced less 
        than 1 percent of total Federal revenues.
            (4) The waste and economic inefficiency caused by estate 
        taxes is well known. American families employ legions of tax 
        accountants and lawyers each year to set up trusts and other 
        prolix devices designed to avoid these onerous levies. The 
        make-work imposed upon the economy comprises billions of 
        dollars.
            (5) In order to pay these excessive taxes, many small 
        businesses must liquidate all or part of their assets. By 
        causing business closures, these taxes constrict business 
        activity, increase unemployment, and reduce tax revenues to the 
        Federal Government.
            (6) Independent analyses indicate that, were these onerous 
        taxes repealed, the Nation's gross domestic product, Federal 
        and State tax revenues, employment base, and capital formation 
        would increase substantially. According to one such survey, 
        repealing these taxes will increase the Nation's economic 
        output by $77,000,000,000, create more than 1,000,000 new jobs, 
        and increase personal income by $56,000,000,000 over the next 7 
        years.
            (7) Repealing these taxes will ensure economic fairness for 
        all American families and businesses, as well as economic 
        growth and prosperity for the Nation as a whole.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF FEDERAL TRANSFER TAXES.

    (a) General Rule.--Subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(relating to estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes) is hereby 
repealed.
    (b) Effective Date.--The repeal made by subsection (a) shall apply 
to the estates of decedents dying, and gifts and generation-skipping 
transfers made, after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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