Take Action! by faxing, mailing or electronically mailing the following note to your Congressional Delegate, today.
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Dear Representative/Senator,
The 55 percent death tax, which is imposed by the federal government upon the death of the owner of a family business, hurts the family, the business, and the community in which it exists. It amounts to double taxation and at a rate that is double that of the current capital gains rate. Often businesses must be sold or employees laid off to pay the tax. Furthermore,
- The estate tax robs a business of working capital that could be used to expand and provide jobs.
- The legal and accounting fees for estate planning and administration of estates also add to the tax burden.
- When a family business must be sold to pay the death tax, often a distant corporation will buy the farm or business and the effect on the community will be the potential loss of jobs and the loss of the benefits of having a local business involved in their community.
Family owned businesses generate about 60 percent of our gross national product and, in the last decade, accounted for an increase of more than 20 million private sector jobs.
Congress should repeal this confiscatory and destructive tax. American family businesses face an unreasonable and anachronistic federal estate tax. Please help to remove this disincentive to productivity and growth during this Congress!
