Small Business Lobby Repeats Call For End To America's Death Tax

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-news.com, Washington

21 May 2001

National Small Business Week, which took place in the US recently, was used by a number of supporters of the country's estate or death tax to advocate the preservation of the tax, which is levied after death on all assets, including land, building, equipment, and more. Pro-estate tax campaigners swarmed Capitol Hill to voice their opinion, President Bush having included the repeal of the tax in his tax cutting package currently under consideration, but these supporters have been criticised by America's Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) for backing a tax that 'destroys small businesses'.

The SBSC has reiterated its strong view that the death tax should be eliminated, its chairman Karen Kerrigan declaring: 'While a few dozen wealthy individuals and the death tax industry might be in favor of preserving the death tax, the true small business position is nothing less than termination of this destructive levy.'

Supporters of the death tax include estate tax lawyers, accountants, and term life insurance companies. According to the SBSC, these special interests are 'an affront to small businesses', and it noted that they were 'using a week set aside to recognise the hard work and sacrifice made by risk-taking Americans to lobby for a tax that destroys small businesses and jobs in their local communities.'

The SBSC believes the death tax is especially unfair and onerous for small businesses and are ardent backers of President Bush in his campaign to get rid of the levy. SBSC chief economist, Raymond J Keating, said: 'Eliminating the death tax, of course, would be good for the economy as well. Currently, many small businesses have to be sold or liquidated to pay death taxes, or huge amounts of resources are wasted on estate planning. This means less investment, slower economic growth and restrained job creation.'

The SBSC is currently mobilising its membership, asking them to contact their US Representatives and Senators again, to remind them of the importance of death tax repeal to the small business community, and the health of their local economies.

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