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Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005

Date: April 21, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Budget and Spending


DEATH TAX REPEAL PERMANENCY ACT OF 2005 -- (Extensions of Remarks - April 21, 2005)

SPEECH OF
HON. BETTY McCOLLUM
OF MINNESOTA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2005

Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 8, the Republican Estate Tax bill. This legislation is further evidence of Republican's chronic addiction to digging deeper into debt. At a time when we face a deficit of over $400 billion, Republicans today chose to pass a bill that will cost Americans another $290 billion-with the cost growing to nearly a trillion dollars after 10 years. This vote comes less than a month after the Majority supported a budget that will slash funding from education and from our firefighters, police, and veterans. This is a clear statement of the majority's priority which is to put corporations and the very rich ahead of our families and communities.

Another rarely discussed provision of the Republican bill is the repeal of "step-up in basis", which will result in an increase in capital gains taxes and additional compliance burdens for many estates. This means that more families, businesses and family farms will have an increased tax liability rather than receive any benefit from this repeal.

I support the Democratic alternative, the Certain and Immediate Estate Tax Relief Act, which would take effect next year and exempt 99.7 percent of families and businesses from this tax for a third of the cost of the Republican proposal. In fact, if this substitute is adopted, all but 71 Minnesota families, 11 North Dakota families, and 5 South Dakota families will be exempted from the estate tax.

Permanent repeal of the estate tax benefits only the very wealthiest in our society while endangering our long-term economic stability and the solvency of Social Security and Medicare. It is my hope that Congress and the Administration will end this reckless spending and return us to common-sense, responsible public policy that makes the health, education and safety of American families our top priority.

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