FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 14, 2000

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Charlotte R. Perham
(800)533-7694
perham@naphcc.org

Death Tax Now One Foot in the Grave, Thanks to PHCC

FALLS CHURCH, VA. - By all accounts, PHCC-National Association's 4th Annual "A Day on Capitol Hill" was a huge success. PHCC's Legislative Conference, held on Thursday, April 6, was well attended by plumbing-heating-cooling contractors from across the country.

This year's conference focused on repeal of the estate tax. The estate tax is levied when a deceased's assets are passed on to surviving family members. For asset-rich, cash-poor family businesses, the estate tax can be crippling and is a main reason why only 30 percent of family-owned businesses are passed on to the second generation.

The highpoint of the day came in the afternoon when hundreds of Senate and House offices were visited by PHCC member contractors. Some PHCC members even brought their children along to the Capitol Hill offices to emphasize who really shoulders the burden of the estate tax. The visits on Capitol Hill were expertly timed, as the House is considering a multitude of relief packages and the Senate is scheduled to begin conferencing with the House on legislation that contains estate tax relief later this month.

The keynote speaker for the conference was Rep. John Tanner (D-TN), who is a leading advocate of estate tax reform and introduced legislation to repeal the estate tax. Tanner stated that there is something "fundamentally wrong with the tax code," when an heir must sell part or all of an inherited business to pay the estate tax. He went on to say that there was "societal value in the generation transfer of businesses," and that reducing the burden of the estate tax would help keep family businesses viable.

Conference participants heard from a panel of experts on the different arguments and angels on the estate tax. Panel speakers were Matt Page of the Small Business Legislative Council, Jim Martin of the 60 Plus Association, and Brian Reardon of the Senate Republican Policy Committee. Martin gave the attendees a brief history of how the estate tax came into existence and why we still have it today. Page and Reardon reviewed many of the pro-repeal arguments and explained how elimination of the "death tax" helps create jobs and protect the environment. Vote counting and legislative maneuvering on the estate tax were discussed by another speaker, Mark Warren, Tax and Finance Counsel for the Senate Small Business Committee.

Armed with ammunition supplied during the morning's educational sessions and their own anecdotal stories, PHCC members spent the afternoon meeting with their elected representatives and their staff. And, while many members received a warm welcome and a commitment to support estate tax reform or repeal, some returned from their meetings with the sense that more work needs to be done before PHCC can claim a victory on this important issue.

For more information on PHCC's Legislative Conference, contact the Government Relations Department at (800) 533-7694, or visit the web site at http://www.naphcc.org.