[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H3224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TIME IS NOW TO REPEAL THE DEATH TAX

  (Mr. KNOLLENBERG asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, it is time to repeal the death tax.
  Under the guise of making the rich pay their fair share, this unfair 
tax is leading to the demise of small, family-owned businesses and the 
elimination of good paying jobs.
  According to the Center for the Study of Taxation, 70 percent of 
family businesses do not survive through the second generation and 87 
percent cannot survive through the third. This is because family 
members often must downsize, must liquidate, and sometimes sell the 
business outright to pay the death taxes, which can reach as high as 57 
percent of the estate in question.
  It also must be pointed out that the death tax represents double and 
sometimes triple taxation. While every American has a duty to pay 
taxes, it is simply wrong for the Federal Government to tax the same 
money time and time again.
  Mr. Speaker, I have introduced a bill to eliminate the Federal estate 
tax. This bill will restore fairness to our Tax Code, protect family-
owned businesses, and encourage saving and investment. I urge my 
colleagues to support it.

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