Death Tax Repeal Passed In The House

The House of Representatives voted today to repeal the Death Tax.  The house bill (H.R. 1105) called the “Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015” would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.  A similar bill (S. 860) is making its way through the Senate.

The death tax mandates taxes be paid on the estate of loved ones who passed away.  This particularly impacts small business owners whose wealth is tied up in their business assets.  When they die and their estate is passed on to their loved ones a tax is imposed on the value of that estate.  The current law requies that the tax kick in if the value of the estate exceeds $5,430,000 for single individuals and $10,860,000 for couples.  Paying the tax often means selling the assets of the business in order to raise the money.  As a result small businesses have been forced to sell or liquidate the assets in order to pay the tax.

A small business owner Karen Modina, Chief Financial Officer of Illco, testifies how the death tax forced her to shut down parts of the company, lay off workers and liquidate inventory.

The Family Business Coalition which represents 82 businesses associations across a wide range of industries supports the repeal of the Death Tax.  They cited widespread support from both sides of the isle.  They also point to studies that show repealing of the death tax would spur job creation and grow the economy by over 100,000 jobs.  They point to a study by the House Joint Economic Committee which found that the death tax has destroyed over $1.1 trillion of capital in the U.S. economy.

If passed in the Senate and sent to the White House the President plans to veto it.

Sources:
H.R. 1105
S. 860
Govtrack.us
Family Business Coalition
Karen Modina Testimony

By Wendy Stewart