[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 45 (Wednesday, April 16, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ESTATE AND GIFT TAXES

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                            HON. RON PACKARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 16, 1997

  Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Speaker, I worry about how our current tax structure 
will affect America's families and small businesses. I hear from 
constituents every day who fret that their cherished family home or 
small business they built from the ground up will end up liquidated 
because our current estate and gift tax laws make it impossible for 
families to hold onto their loved one's legacy.
  No American should have to stay up late at night worrying about how 
the tax system will hurt them. The estate and gift tax seems especially 
cruel when you consider it strips people of the very thing a life well 
lived provides--the opportunity to endow our children with the fruits 
of our labor. For all of the suffering estate taxes cause loved ones, 
the tax accounts for only a small fraction of the Federal Government's 
revenue--about 1 percent or $15 billion.
  Most people mistakenly assume that the estate and gift tax socks it 
only to the rich. Nothing is further from the truth. In fact, this tax 
hits small businesses the hardest. More than 70 percent of small 
businesses never make it into the hands of the next generation, and 
more than 80 percent never make it to the third generation. The effect 
on the economy is immeasurable. How many jobs have been lost because a 
family had to shut down a thriving business just to pay the taxes?
  Mr. Speaker, I recently cosponsored the Family Heritage Preservation 
Act, introduced by Congressman Chris Cox, Republican from Newport 
Beach. This legislation would repeal Federal estate and gift taxes. 
President Clinton's own White House Conference on Small Business has 
cited estate tax repeal as one of his No. 1 objectives. I will work to 
repeal the Federal estate and gift taxes in order to ensure for the 
future of our children and grandchildren.

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