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504 Cannon House Office
Building · Washington, DC 20515 For Immediate
Release Congressman Pitts:
“Death tax veto hurts our
farmers!” East Marlborough—Rep. Joe Pitts (R, PA-16) said today that
President Clinton’s veto of bipartisan estate tax repeal legislation
is going to take its toll on Pennsylvania farmland. The estate tax repeal passed
the House on June 9 by a wide bipartisan margin of 279 to136, with
65 Democrats voting for it.
The estate tax is better knows as the “death tax,” because it
is levied only upon the death of a property owner. Farmers and small business
owners are disproportionately affected by the tax, costing their
heirs up 60 percent of an estate’s value. “Our way of life in Lancaster and Chester
counties depends on the perpetuation of agriculture. When a farmer has to pay the
government up to 60 percent of a farm’s value, he often has no
choice but to sell all or part of the farm—usually to
developers. The death
tax is killing agriculture in Pennsylvania and Bill Clinton and Al
Gore don’t seem to care.
Until this outdated tax is repealed, farms will continue to
be replaced by housing developments and shopping malls until there
are hardly any working farms left. “The President’s claim that we need this
revenue to pay down the debt is just plain dishonest. Our entire tax cut
package—including repeal of the marriage penalty and taxes on Social
Security benefits—will take up barely more than eleven percent of
the projected surplus.
This leaves more than enough revenue to pay down the debt and
shore up Social Security and Medicare. Clinton and Gore just don’t
like cutting taxes.” Congressman Pitts said a veto-override vote
will be held soon. # # # |
