Steven Holt: “this week I visited a beautiful farm, 85 acres in Holmdel, New Jersey, the Garden State. This property is one of the…”

“this week I visited a beautiful farm, 85 acres in Holmdel, New Jersey, the Garden State. This property is one of the largest parcels of undeveloped land in that township. The farm has survived two world wars, the Great Depression, the advent of the technological revolution, and the factory farm. But today, because of the estate tax, family members may have to sell the property to developers. This is true even though some of the survivors would like to keep the land in the family and preserve it as open space and farmland. Well, when a government policy robs families of their heritage and forces communities to develop land instead of preserving it, something needs to be changed. I am proud to cosponsor the legislation introduced by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) that would help mitigate this unfair tax which hits so many in New Jersey. The Rangel small business tax package would relieve the estate tax burden for family-owned farms and small businesses, and also includes other helpful tax cuts, including a provision to make permanent the work opportunity and welfare-to-work tax credits. The proposal would also accelerate 100 percent health insurance deduction for the self-employed and increase the tax deductions for business expenses. This is a responsible package to preserve family farms and small businesses and is compatible with efforts to shore up Social Security and Medicare and pay down the debt.”