Grassley Joins Bill to Repeal Punitive Death Tax on Family Farms, Businesses

Statement

Building on past success and what might be new momentum, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is a lead co-sponsor of newly re-introduced legislation to repeal the federal estate tax, better known as the death tax, that punishes family farmers and business owners on the death of an owner.

"The appreciated value of land is phantom income," Grassley said. "The value is locked in the asset, so if there's no intent to sell the land, there's no real income to tax other than the income the land actually produces, and that's already taxed. The estate tax doesn't serve any purpose except sending more money to Washington, D.C., that would be better spent on keeping up the family farm or creating jobs at a business."

Grassley is an original co-sponsor of the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015 from Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). The bill is identical to legislation advancing in the House of Representatives. Grassley is former chairman of the Finance Committee, with exclusive Senate jurisdiction over taxes, and where he presided over death tax relief.

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