WASHINGTON  -  U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today cast her vote in favor of H.R. 8, legislation to permanently repeal the death tax when relief expires on December 31, 2010.  The bill won passage in the House of Representatives for the fourth time in as many years by a tally of 272-162.

 

On its current course, the federal government will phase out the death tax, also known as the estate tax, by 2009.  The full estate tax will return to federal law in 2011, however, unless Congress acts to make repeal permanent.

 

“By making estate tax relief permanent, we are enabling Americans to keep family farms in the family and to pass on their lifelong investment in small family businesses to their children,”  Emerson said.  “Too often, the estate tax forces the sale of farmland that is the legacy of our hard-working farmers to the next generation.  We can’t continue to discourage young people from taking up the family business with this tax and still expect to keep them in our rural American communities.  Our farms are the family heirlooms of this rural generation.”

 

Permanent relief from the estate tax, which reaches a 47 percent rate at its highest bracket, has failed to win approval in the U.S. Senate each time the House of Representatives has passed the bill. 

 

“I sincerely hope this is the year permanent repeal of the estate tax becomes law.  Our farmers’ plans for their future depend on having a reliable law in place.  The death tax hits at the most difficult time, overwhelming the finances of a family.  In federal law, the death tax is the equivalent of kicking a man while he is down,” Emerson said.