Repealing the Death Tax: A Good Deal for Everyone

Kathryn Nix / January 28, 2010

While jobs and the economy are at the forefront of all Americans’ minds, Congress has the ability to create jobs, raise federal revenues, and boost the economy at the end of their fingertips —without any expense to the taxpayer. This could all be achieved simply by permanently repealing the death tax.

At a lecture at the Family Research Council, Dick Patten, the President of the American Family Business Institute, presented a compelling case for repealing the death tax. The death tax is a costly burden for small family-owned businesses. According to President Obama, small business “created roughly 70% of all new jobs in the past decade.” And yet the death tax punishes growth of these job producers by making it difficult for them to succeed after the death of their owner. A study by Prince and Associates showed that “the need to raise funds to pay estate taxes” was cited by 98% of respondents as the reason for failure of such firms. (more…)