Bob Dole: “I am pleased to note that a Treasury official appearing before the Finance Committee this week testified in support of…”

“I am pleased to note that a Treasury official appearing before the Finance Committee this week testified in support of targeting estate tax relief to family-owned businesses. Time and time again, family business owners across the country have told me about the unfairness of the current estate tax and its 55 percent rate. Too often heirs are forced to sell the family business or farm just to pay the estate tax. And too often the buyer of the family business is a large corporation that does not necessarily have the best interests of the community or the business employees at heart. I will be introducing legislation in the coming weeks that will allow family-owned and other closely held businesses to remain in the family after the death of an owner. I intend to drastically reduce the estate tax rates for the value of a closely held business. For the smallest of businesses, the estate tax should be virtually eliminated. Without the estate tax burden on the backs of American families, they can continue to prosper. And when families continue to operate their businesses we all benefit--the business employees keep their jobs, the Government receives income taxes on business profits, and the families retain their livelihood. The estate tax is not a Democratic or a Republican problem, or one that affects only rural or urban families. That is why I am working with Members of both sides of the aisle to develop broad, bipartisan support for the legislation.”