Sam Gibbons: “we have all experienced the loss of a loved one. It is a time when family and friends come together to console each…”

“we have all experienced the loss of a loved one. It is a time when family and friends come together to console each other in an effort to ease the sorrow. Unfortunately, it is also a time when the callous Federal tax collector comes knocking. Today when someone dies, the Federal Government assesses a tax of up to 55 percent on the value of their estate. As a result, approximately 70 percent of family-owned businesses and small farms are not passed on to the next generation, another loss that the grieving family and American society as a whole must endure. But today, Mr. Speaker, we have the opportunity to ease this unfair burden. The Wage and Employment Growth Act reduces the top estate tax from 55 percent down to 50 by 2002 and will further reduce all rates by 1 percent in the years 2003 and 2004. Mr. Speaker, 77 percent of the American public believes the death tax is unfair and should be repealed. This will be one loss that the American family will not grieve for.”