WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Declaring it among the most important victories of the Republican-led Congress, U.S. Congressman Bob Schaffer (R-CO) today celebrated U.S. House passage of legislation he cosponsored to repeal the federal estate and gift tax, also known as the "death tax." The House approved the Death Tax Elimination Act (H.R. 8) by a vote of 279 to 136.

"Coloradans who work their entire lives to leave their loved ones a savings account, farm, or small business are robbed at death by federal estate taxes that devour 37 to 55 percent of everything they created," said Schaffer. "No grieving family should ever be forced to visit the undertaker and the IRS in the same day. I am extremely pleased by today's vote to bury the death tax once and for all."

Schaffer has been among the nation's most vocal opponents of the death tax since he was first elected to Congress in 1996. The tax has forced the breakup and sale of thousands of Colorado family farms, ranches, and small businesses over the years just so family members can afford to pay the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to Schaffer. The federal government collects up to 55% of the value of an estate upon death, yet it spends approximately 65% of that revenue on compliance and enforcement costs alone, according to the Center for the Study of Taxation.

Nearly one-third of all existing small businesses in America would one day be broken-up or sold just to cover the costs of death taxes, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB). Over 70% of family-owned businesses do not survive beyond the second generation of operation and 87% do not survive past the third. Sixty percent of small business-owners today report they would create new jobs within the next year if estate taxes were eliminated, according to the NFIB.

"Repealing the death tax is particularly vital to the future of Colorado agriculture," said Schaffer. According to the American Farm Bureau, 99% of all farms in the United States are owned by individuals, family partnerships, or family-owned corporations. Nearly half of all current farm and ranch operators are 55 years or older and nearing the age when they will transfer their farms and ranches to their children.

"Today's successful vote to repeal the onerous death tax was an important victory for families throughout the nation," Schaffer concluded.