Neal Dunn: “The Democrat substitute is a short-term fix, and it is really a scam. It is masquerading as real tax relief. As I listen…”

“The Democrat substitute is a short-term fix, and it is really a scam. It is masquerading as real tax relief. As I listen to the gentlewoman talk about the incidents in her State of Florida, it occurs to me that the numbers tell a different story. They are complaining about our not having enough money to spend on certain programs, many of which I think are very worthy and many of which we are spending money on. But in the Democrat substitute over the first 5 years, they are spending $22 billion compared to the $9.2 billion that we spend in ours. They are actually raiding the coffers to a much greater extent themselves. Mr. Speaker, their bill does not address rates. After the $3 million credit, the family is forced to pay taxes starting at a 50 percent rate on every dollar over the credit. It does not start at 1 percent. It starts at 50. For businesses valued at $6 million, this means a tax bill approaching $1.5 million. Under the substitute, the United States will still have the second highest death tax rates in the world after Japan, behind bastions of free market capitalism like France and Sweden. Secondly, every attempt to provide the death tax relief has been a failure. We all know what happens when a tax is left on the books. It simply grows back. It grows back in this case with a vengeance. Inflation alone can subtract 30 percent of the value away from the exemption that the substitute requires.”