Taxpayers
Urge President Clinton to Sign Death Tax Repeal
WASHINGTON-
On behalf of all taxpayers Americans for Tax Reform, the
country's most influential taxpayer organization, today urged President
Clinton to sign the Death Tax Elimination Act.
The
Death Tax Elimination Act, which passed the House and Senate overwhelmingly
last month with wide bipartisan support, would phase out the death
tax over 10 years, ending the unfair tax on small, family-owned
farms and businesses.
Grover Norquist, president of
ATR, issued the following statement:
"Today,
we implore the President to sign the Death Tax Elimination Act.
It is wrong for the government to tax a person's death.
"The
government has no business erecting a toll booth on the stairway
to heaven. It is time
this egregious tax is eliminated.
Those who are hurt most by this horrific tax are those who
have built their own small businesses and family farms.
"Studies
have shown that by eliminating the death tax, the economy would
actually grow at a faster rate, resulting in increased revenue for
the government than if the government taxed the money before it
is passed on to the decedent's family. Moreover, according to the Wall Street Journal, 200,000
extra jobs could be created each year with money that small family-owned
farms and businesses currently spend on paying or preparing for
the death tax.
"Poll
after poll demonstrates that the vast majority of Americans believe
the death tax is bad for families and the nation's economy and that
it should be put to death immediately.
"While Clinton and Gore continue
to pit people against people in their never ending battle to perpetuate
'class warfare,' millions of families and small business owners
continue to worry about whether they are going to have to hold a
liquidation sale to pay their loved one's 'death tax.'
On behalf of all taxpayers, we urge President Clinton to
kill the death tax now."
