Legislative Update

As a result of a growing movement to repeal the tax, the EGTRRA of 2001 included the phase out of the death tax from 2001-2010, when the death tax is completely eliminated. However, as a result of Senate rules, repeal only lasts for one year and the death tax returns at its prior confiscatory level in 2011, unless Congress acts.

Legislative activity to repeal the death tax is occurring at an increasingly rapid pace. On February 17, 2005, Congressman Kenny Hulshof (R) (MS), and Congressman Bud Cramer (D) (AL), introduced HR 8 in the House of Representatives, which permanently repeals the death tax in 2010. HR 8 passed with a vote of 272 to 162.   It must now be passed by the U. S. Senate, which is the true battleground for permanent death tax repeal.   Please assist us in passage in the Senate by telling Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist, that a vote on repeal is important to you.

Sixty votes in the U.S. Senate are necessary to obtain permanent repeal. Advocates for repeal are focusing much attention on the eight Democratic Senators that have supported permanent repeal in the past to assure that they will vote for it again, even though there is a new political climate because of increasing federal budget deficits. As a reminder, these eight Democratic Senators are:

Senator Max Baucus (MT)
Senator Evan Bayh (IN)
Senator Mary Landrieu (LA)
Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Senator Ben Nelson (NE)
Senator Bill Nelson (FL)
Senator Mark Pryor (AR)
Senator Ron Wyden (OR)

President Bush has included $256 billion in his budget this year, for permanent repeal of death tax in 2010 and continues to advocate for permanent repeal. Without White House support for repeal, efforts would likely fail. Additionally, Minority Leader, Senator Harry Reid, has been willing to discuss a possible solution to the death tax for families and their businesses. His willingness to discuss the death tax shows that Democrats are concerned about this issue and most likely, want to find a solution so that it will no longer be a negative issue for them.

The time to achieve success, defined as permanent repeal, is NOW ! With a House of Representatives that has already passed permanent repeal and a President that will sign it, the challenge is to achieve passage in the Senate, which will require 60 votes.  The Senate vote on permanent repeal will likely occur in Spring, 2006.

In 2000 , the House and Senate passed HR 8, the Death Tax Elimination Act. It moved through Congress with broad bipartisan support, only to be vetoed by President Clinton. An attempt to override the veto failed by a narrow margin of nine votes. This year with much closer margins in Congress, and a President in the White House who says he will sign a bill to eliminate the death tax, the effort to repeal this devastating tax is alive and well. But success this year depends on the willingness of all those who support repeal to communicate with their Members of Congress.

HR 8 (HTML Format)
HR8.pdf (72 kb download)

Please e-mail us with your comments, death tax horror stories and suggestions on-line at feedback@deathtax.com.

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