[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        DEATH TAX EQUALS DOUBLE TAXATION AND SHOULD BE OUTLAWED

  (Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, a family that has suffered a loss of a loved 
one should not have the added grief of losing the family business, 
ranch, or personal savings; yet that is what is happening under our 
current Tax Code. Because of an archaic tax law, when a person dies in 
this country, an outrageous tax of 37 to 55 percent is levied on his or 
her property, even though the deceased spent his or her entire life 
paying taxes on that very estate.
  The death tax is a form of double taxation that has devastated too 
many families and businesses. It has been estimated that one-third of 
small business owners will have to sell outright or liquidate a part of 
their business to pay death taxes. More than 70 percent of family 
businesses do not survive the second generation, and 87 percent do not 
make it to the third generation. In my district of Colorado Springs, a 
well-established family business had to close its doors in the face of 
an enormous estate tax bill. Small family-run businesses are the 
backbone of our Nation's strong economy and should not be forced to 
close down because of taxes.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support the Death Tax 
Elimination Act on this very day.




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