WASHINGTON, D.C.,
July 20, 1999 -- At a news conference on Capitol
Hill today, a spokesman for the small-business
group NFIB cried out for estate-tax
relief.
"Keep the American Dream alive.
Repeal the estate tax," said NFIB's Manager of
Federal Public Policy Brian Reardon.
Last week, the U.S. House Ways and Means
Committee approved the Financial Freedom Act of
1999. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Bill Archer
(7thDist.-Texas), the Act repeals the estate tax
through rate reduction. Reardon urged for its
swift passage at the news conference
today.
America's family-owned businesses
are hardest hit by this devastating tax, Reardon
noted. Imposed at the most vulnerable time in a
family - death of the principal business owner -
the death tax forces loved ones who want to keep
the business in the family to pay up to 55% of
the estate's total value - in cash - to the
government. Most small companies do not have
enough cash available to pay the unreasonably
high tax rate, as most capital is tied up in the
business, forcing survivors to sell the family
business. This devastates the employees, the
community and the other surviving owners, said
Reardon.
Even if a family-business owner
prepares for estate taxes, the costs are
staggering, said Reardon. Capital must be spent
on insurance, legal fees, and other costs, all
with the hopes that this planning will soften
the blow of the hard-hitting estate tax, said
Reardon.
"Small-business owners would
rather spend their precious resources creating
jobs and contributing to the economy, not
preparing for a punitive form of double
taxation," said Reardon.
Repealing the
death tax through rate reduction is a priority
for NFIB. The National Federation of Independent
Business (NFIB) is the nation's largest
small-business advocacy group. A nonprofit,
nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB
represents the consensus views of its600,000
members in Washington and all 50 state
capitals.
CONTACT: McCall Cameron or Mary
Crawford at
202.554.9000.
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