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CONTACTS:
KERRY LYNN SCHMIT (202) 637-3089
DOROTHY COLEMAN (202) 637-3077

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 9, 2000 -- The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) today praised House members for voting 279 to 136 in favor of repealing the federal estate and gift tax regime, widely known as the death tax.

"When you weigh the tremendous costs of the estate tax against its relatively limited benefits, it is clear that repeal is long overdue," said Dorothy Coleman, NAM’s vice president for tax policy. "Family businesses shouldn’t be faced with the ‘rock-and-a- hard-place’ choice of planning to sell the business when the owner dies or adopting costly, cumbersome and time consuming estate planning strategies to protect themselves from rates that can be as high as 55 percent.

"Estate taxes generate less than two percent of federal tax revenue. They aren’t worth it," Coleman continued. "A business that has to close and sell off assets to pay a death tax stops paying income taxes and payroll taxes, and stops supporting and creating jobs."

The bill approved by the House would phase-out the death tax, which would be completely eliminated by 2010. "H.R. 8 will dramatically reduce the time, money and energy spent by business owners on estate planning, saving many companies that today must be sold for purely tax reasons when an owner dies," concluded Coleman.