CRANE VOTES TO OVERIDE PRESIDENT’S VETO OF DEATH TAX REPEAL

CRANE SAYS VETO IS ILL-ADVISED AND UNFAIR

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Phil Crane voted today to override President Clinton’s veto of the death tax repeal calling the veto ill-vised and unfair. The veto was sustained by a 274 to 157 vote.

"The death tax is an immoral, obscene tax." Congressman Crane said. "It is a tax belonging to a philosophy of envy, fear, and greed. That is the wrong philosophy for America in the 21^st century. The death tax should be repealed immediately. I urged my colleagues to do the right thing and vote to override the President’s ill-advised veto of this bill."

Congressman Crane also inserted into the Congressional Record a letter from a constituent in the 8^th District of Illinois he received yesterday regarding a family farm that has been passed down from generation to generation for 268 years that may have to be sold to pay the death taxes.

"The death tax means an end to a family’s heritage," Congressman Crane said. "That farm has been in the family for 268 years. If someday they decide to sell the family farm, it should be their own choice. They should never be compelled to do so to pay a tax that should never have been enacted."

Attached is a copy of the letter to Congressman Crane from Roger E. Hedberg Sr. from Barrington, Illinois that was inserted into the Record.

The "Death Tax Elimination Act" repeals the estate, gift and generation skipping transfer tax within 10 years. The plan would also simplify portions of the generation skipping transfer tax rules prior to repeal.

According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses more than 70% of small businesses do not survive the second generation and 87% do not make it to the third generation. Sixty percent of small-business owners report that they would create new jobs over the coming year if death taxes were eliminated.