Dear Members of Congress,
The federal estate tax—also known as the “death tax”— is destructive to entrepreneurship, job creation and economic growth. In many instances, heirs must sell family businesses, farms and ranches, just to pay this unfair double tax. The death tax is so problematic from a policy perspective that many states have repealed their state-level death taxes in recent years, with Delaware becoming the most recent during the 2017 legislative session. Only 17 states still levy the tax.
Despite this whirlwind of economic havoc—including egregious compliance costs and administrative costs—the death tax generates only a minimal amount of revenue for the federal government. In 2016, estate and gift taxes generated just $21.4 billion of the $3.27 trillion of federal revenue, less than 66 cents of every $100.
A plethora of academic analysis corroborates painful anecdotes in identifying the death tax as destructive to job opportunity and expansion, especially to family farmers and entrepreneurs. The ensuing tax bill after losing a loved one imposes a severe hardship on many family businesses and family farming operations. Often, family members are forced to partially or completely liquidate these businesses which may have taken generations to build. In addition to the calamity on these families, state and local governments are often deprived of an important ongoing source of revenue from these businesses—all in order to pad the federal coffers by a fraction of one percent. State and local primary and secondary education centers – along with churches and numerous other charitable activities – would greatly benefit from the increased employment and continued family business leadership provided by these stunted firms.
With these facts in mind, it’s no surprise that a strong majority of Americans consistently find the death tax to be the “most unfair” of all taxes and therefore favor total repeal of the tax.
Arizona
Senator Debbie Lesko
Representative John Allen
Representative Ben Toma
Representative David Cook
Representative Paul Mosley
Representative Don Shooter
Representative David Stringer
Representative Beck Nutt
Representative Bob Thorpe
Arkansas
Representative Karilyn Brown
California
Senator Joel Anderson
Assemblyman Matthew Harper
Colorado
Senator Kevin Grantham
Senator Randy Baumgardner
Connecticut
Representative John Piscopo
Georgia
Representative Matt Dollar
Idaho
Senator Steve Vick
Illinois
Representative David Reis
Indiana
Senator Jim Buck
Senator Victoria Spartz
Representative David Frizzell
Representative Dave Wolkins
Representative Woody Burton
Representative Heath VanNatter
Iowa
Speaker Linda Upmeyer
Representative Dawn Pettengill
Representative Chip Baltimore
Kansas
Senator Ty Masterson
Representative John Baker
Representative Rander Garber
Maine
Senator Andre Cushing
Maryland
Senator Gail Bates
Delegate Susan Krebs
Delegate Kathy Szeliga
Minnesota
Senator Mary Kiffmeyer
Senator Roger Chamberlain
Representative Jerry Hertaus
Mississippi
Speaker Philip Gunn
Senator Josh Harkins
Representative Dan Eubanks
Missouri
Senator Ed Emery
Senator Wayne Wallingford
Senator Andrew Koenig
Representative Donna Lichtenegger
Representative Justin Hill
Nebraska
Senator Jim Smith
New Hampshire
Senator Gary Daniels
Senator Harold French
Representative Ken Weyler
Representative Gregory Hill
Representative Mariellen MacKay
New Mexico
Representative Yvette Herrell
North Carolina
Senator David Custis
Representative Jason Saine
Representative Kyle Hall
Representative Larry Yarborough
Representative Susan Martin
North Dakota
Senator Janne Myrdal
Representative Bernie Satrom
Representative Andrew Marshall
Representative Dan Ruby
Representative Matthew Ruby
Ohio
Senator Louis Terhar
Senator Bill Coley
Representative Andy Thompson
Representative Dick Stein
Oklahoma
Senator Julie Daniels
Oregon
Senator Kim Thatcher
Senator Fred Girod
Pennsylvania
Senator Rich Alloway
Representative Brian Ellis
Representative Seth Grove
South Carolina
Senator Rex Rice
Representative Alan Clemmons
Representative Garry Smith
South Dakota
Senator Jim Stalzer
Representative Al Novstrup
Representative Lynne DiSanto
Representative Steve Haugaard
Representative Lesley Heinemann
Tennessee
Senator Brian Kelsey
Senator Ed Jackson
Senator Bill Ketron
Representative Jimmy Eldridge
Representative Martin Daniel
Representative Patsy Hazelwood
Texas
Representative Phil King
Representative Phil Stephenson
Representative Tony Dale
Representative Charles “Doc” Anderson
Representative Ed Thompson
Utah
Senator Wayne Niederhauser
Senator Lincoln Fillmore
Senator J. Stuart Adams
Senator Ann Millner
Representative Kim Coleman
Representative Kay Christofferson
Representative Logan Wilde
Virginia
Delegate Kathy Byron
Councilman Jon Russell
Washington
Representative Luanne VanWerven
Representative Mary Dye
Representative Joe Schmick
West Virginia
Senator Mark Mayvard
Senator Patricia Rucker
Delegate Gary Howell
Wisconsin
Representative Kathleen Bernier
Representative Dan Kroll
Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt
Representative Rob Swearingen
Representative Mike Kuglitsch
Representative Tyler Vorpager
Representative Ken Skowronski
Wyoming
Representative Dan Laursen
Representative Bunky Loucks
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