Americans Against Unfair Family Taxation (AAUFT) is composed of businesses, organizations and individuals who have joined together to repeal estate taxes. AAUFT will achieve this goal by educating the American people, opinion makers and elected officials about this punitive and unfair tax. This is a large-scale education effort with its activity aimed largely outside of Washington, DC.

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is a nonprofit association conducting programs in research, education, industry relations and public affairs on behalf of its 1,500 members including their subsidiaries — food retailers and wholesalers and their customers in the United States and around the world. FMI’s domestic member companies operate approximately 21,000 retail food stores with a combined annual sales volume of $220 billion — more than half of all grocery store sales in the United States. FMI’s retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, small regional firms and independent supermarkets. Its international membership includes 200 members from 60 countries.

Welcome and thank you all for coming. What makes Americans Against Unfair Family Taxation unique is that we represent family-owned businesses throughout the United States. And we have come together with a single but extremely important goal — to repeal the estate tax.

The estate tax is a burden that affects everyone in this room and every family in the nation. Every one of us is going to die one day. And while our family mourns, the IRS will pay an unwelcome visit and take away as much as 55 percent of our family assets. The estate tax includes not only our family’s savings, but also the home, land, pensions, life insurance, stocks and bonds, annuities, IRAs, 401K plans and all other assets that have any economic value.

It is hard to imagine a more onerous or unfair tax. First, it constitutes double or even triple taxation. The person who died already paid income tax on that money — both state and federal. He or she may already have paid capital gains taxes as well.

The estate tax is a real killer for small family businesses. I know this well because about 1,000 members of my association, the Food Marketing Institute, are family-owned supermarket companies. In fact, half our members are one-store operators. Most of their money is tied up in assets — the costly stores, refrigeration systems, and thousands upon thousands of products on the shelves.

With yearly profits of a penny on the dollar — the industry average — the owner has very little cash on hand. Some FMI members buy life insurance just to help pay the tax, but many cannot afford the premiums.

When the owner dies, as much as he may have wanted to pass the business down to his sons or daughters, the estate tax puts them in a deep financial hole. They can try to keep the business going with Uncle Sam as their silent partner.

All too often, however, the estate tax forces them to close or sell the business. And the community loses an institution that may have supported the local economy for years. And the industry loses another independent operator — historically, the source of many of the greatest innovations in our business. This is how the estate tax is a killer.

This burden cuts across all industries, including your own — the broadcast and newspaper businesses. As you probably know, the tax has contributed to the demise of numerous daily newspapers. The founding members of our coalition include:

• National Association of Broadcasters
• Food Distributors International, representing food wholesalers and foodservice operators.
• Grocery Manufacturers of America.
• International Franchise Association.
• National Association of Convenience Stores.
• Printing Industries of America.
• National Beer Wholesalers Association.

Together, the family members of these groups employ millions of Americans who are affected by the estate tax burden.

Congress has been considering estate tax reforms for years, but the modifications have provided us little, if any, relief for the family businesses that comprise our coalition. The issue has not been given the attention it deserves, and much of the debate has taken place in political forums inside the beltway.

The strategy of Americans Against Unfair Family Taxation is to give this issue a much higher profile with average voters across America.

Today, we’re going to share research with you that shows the vast majority of Americans support the repeal of the estate tax once they understand its terrible economic impact. Beyond what I’ve already told you, research by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress found that estate taxes generate only 1.4 percent of federal revenues, and "may actually result in a net revenue loss for the federal government."*

This finding would be laughable if the tax weren’t so harmful to both family businesses and to an increasing number of middle class Americans. In short, the tax has no economic value whatsoever. It eliminates jobs. It impedes innovation. It hurts the economy.

We are going to communicate these messages in a nationwide campaign using every media available. You have copies of the coalition’s mission and principles in your press kits, along with print ads we’re going to run. We are also developing television and radio ads to reach millions of Americans with our case for eliminating the estate tax. We expect many U.S. citizens to respond with strong words to their members of Congress that this tax is unacceptable and must be repealed.

We already have a legislative vehicle to accomplish our goal. It is H.R. 8, "The Death Tax Elimination Act." The co-authors are two prominent members of Congress: Republican Jennifer Dunn from the state of Washington and Democrat John Tanner of Tennessee. Both serve on the Ways and Means Committee, which has primary jurisdiction. This is a bipartisan bill — already with 189 co-sponsors.

We have a companion bill in the Senate, authored by Ben Nighthorse Campbell. I would re-emphasize the bipartisan sponsorship to drive home important point that the repeal of estate taxes must be considered on its own merits. Our polling research shows that voters would not want to see this issue politicized. The case for repeal is too clear and compelling.