• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About

Radio America Online News Bureau

Killing the Death Tax Once and for All

May 29, 2014 by GregC

Calling it an “immoral” burden on families, farms and small businesses, Texas Rep. Kevin Brady is leading the latest House Republican effort to fully repeal the estate tax, which critics deride as the death tax.

The estate tax levies penalties of 40 percent on the inheritance of certain estates.  The 2001 tax cuts phased it out over 10 years and there was no estate tax in 2010.  Over the past three years, Congress engaged in fierce debate over the tax rate and how large an estate must be to meet the threshold for taxation.  As part of the “Fiscal Cliff ” deal in January 2013, the estate tax was permanently applied to individual estates valued at $5.25 million and assets of couples of more than $10 million.

Those rates lead Brady’s critics to allege this latest legislation only benefits the very wealthy, but Brady says the facts tell us otherwise.

“There’s something wrong and immoral about the government swooping in upon your death to take more than a third of the nest egg you’ve worked a lifetime to build.  I think this is the wrong tax at the wrong time and it really lands hard on families and farmers and small businesses,” said Brady, who elaborated on why farms and small businesses often end up in the estate tax cross hairs.

“They may have land passed down from their family.  They may have a building.  Equipment can add up very quickly.  Technology is very expensive.  So you think this is for the wealthy, but for the most part, these are families building up wealth, sometimes for the very first time.  In fact, more and more women and minority-owned businesses are getting caught up in the death tax,” said Brady.

Democrats regularly raise two other arguments. First, they allege Republicans are trying to eliminate another source of revenue at a time America can least afford it.  Brady not only contends that’s false but insists the opposite is true.

“It really hinders entrepreneurial activity.  It breaks up family farms and businesses.  It’s the number one reason businesses aren’t passed down to the next generation.  By eliminating this, it encourages people to put money and investment toward that business.  They don’t have to spend money on expensive life insurance and other estate planning and they can invest that back in their business,” said Brady.

“Because it grows the economy and encourages more investment in these local businesses and family-owned farms, it actually grows the economy without the death tax in place,” he said.

Republicans routinely refer to the estate tax as a form of double taxation because the government taxed it once as income and wants another bite at the pie after a person dies.  Democrats see it differently.  They argue that the decedent paid taxes once when the money was earned but the heirs are taxed the second time around.

Brady not only disagrees with the Democrats, but he believes the GOP characterization of the tax is too kind.

“Look at family farms that have had to sell off their property to have to pay this death tax.  In part of my community, families are taking out their third death tax loan because their grandfather and their father had loans outstanding.  Now they’re taking out another one just to keep the family farm and paid taxes on their whole life,” said Brady.

“I don’t think they’re merely double-taxed.  In some cases it’s tripled and four times just to keep the business and the family farm that they worked and created.  I don’t think the government has a claim over this nest egg at all.  I think the sooner we end that the better,” said Brady.

On the other hand, Brady says Democrats not only want to block his bill.  He says they are actively trying to change the estate tax laws in the opposite to direction to force more people into even higher rates.

“Democrats and the president are going exactly the wrong way.  Within weeks of that permanent exemption of the death tax and that permanent rate, the president was calling for fewer people to be exempted.  More people would be caught by it and paying higher taxes, which would make us, effectively, the highest death tax in the world.  That’s why we believe we need to push for ultimate repeal.  If we don’t, my worry over time is that they’re going to continue to wage this war on our family-owned businesses and farms and we simply can’t afford to lose it,” said Brady.

Standard Podcast [ 6:39 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Filed Under: Podcasts

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Recent

  • Chicago Hope? Bipartisan Cowardice, Biden’s Bizarre Challenge
  • Ignoring Entitlements, Trump Balloon Confusion, State of Boredom
  • Biden’s Terrible Polls, Big Balloon Blunders, Buying Brady’s Sand
  • Big January Jobs Jump, China’s Spy Balloon, Stay Home to Save the Climate?
  • Blowing Up the Left’s Border Narrative, Hunter Biden’s Desperation, Feinstein’s Waiting Game

Archives

  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in