[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E579-E580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          DEATH TAX SUNSET ACT

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                          HON. JOE SCARBOROUGH

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 25, 1999

  Mr. SCARBOROUGH. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased today to introduce the 
Death Tax Sunset Act which would put an end to the Federal government's 
most outrageous form of taxation. Very simply, my bill would put an end 
to estate and gift taxes after the year 2002. Hard working Americans 
deserve no less.
  The thought that our government can take over half of a person's life 
savings when they die should sicken every American. How can we justify 
taking 55 percent of Americans' life savings when they die? The answer, 
quite simply, is that we cannot.

[[Page E580]]

  First instituted in the late 18th century, the estate tax was enacted 
to help our young nation build a Navy to protect our shores. Until 1916 
when it became a permanent part of the tax code, it was repealed and 
brought back several times during times of emergency. It has been 
largely unchanged since the 1930's. The death tax is now a combination 
of three taxes: the estate tax, the gift tax, and the generation-
skipping transfer tax. Its tax rate is the steepest in the tax code--
beginning at 37 percent and rising to an incredible 55 percent.
  The National Federation of Independent Businesses has called the 
estate tax ``the single greatest government burden imposed upon small 
family businesses.'' The National Commission on Economic Growth noted 
in its report that it makes little sense and is unfair to impose extra 
taxes on those who choose to pass their assets on to their children and 
grandchildren rather than spend the money before they die. This cuts to 
the heart of the American dream of success from hard work and fiscal 
responsibility. Entrepreneurs should not be punished for their 
success--they should be rewarded.
  Why should death taxes be repealed? Besides the fact that these taxes 
punish savings, thrift, and entrepreneurship, they have a devastating 
effect on family farmers and small businesses. According to a recent 
report by the Center for the Study of Taxation, 7 of our 10 businesses 
don't survive through a second generation and almost 9 in 10 fail to 
make it through a third. In fact, 9 out of 10 family business owners 
who took over after the principal's death in a recent survey said death 
taxes contributed to their business' demise.
  If Congress succeeds in repealing these unfair, burdensome, and 
punitive taxes, the economic benefits will be enormous. In fact, the 
Heritage Foundation in 1997 forecast that during the ten year period 
after death tax repeal: an average of 145,000 new jobs would be 
created; our economy would yield an extra $1.1 billion per year; 
personal income would rise by an additional $8 billion per year; and 
the economic growth caused by repeal would more than offset any revenue 
lost to the treasury from the repeal. This is just one of a number of 
studies that detail the extraordinary benefits of repealing estate and 
gift taxes.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me in sunsetting the 
most egregious form of taxation. We should set a goal of the end of the 
year 2002 to completely repeal death taxes. We must make it a priority 
so that we move away from punishing hard work, thrift, savings, and 
entrepreneurship and start rewarding these most American of values.

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