Don Nickles: “I have always believed that economic freedom is a critical part of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.…”

“I have always believed that economic freedom is a critical part of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, the Internal Revenue Code does not always promote or encourage economic freedom, and one area where this is strikingly clear is the confiscatory, anti-family, anti-growth estate tax. Most Americans work diligently throughout their lives to provide for their families and give their children and grandchildren a better future. This work often results in the accumulation of assets like homes, businesses, and farms; all acquired with hard work and bought with after-tax dollars. Unfortunately, those without high-paid lawyers and accountants realize too late that up to 55 percent of those assets could be confiscated by the Federal Government upon their death. Some people mistakenly believe estate taxes only affect the rich, but there are thousands of small businesses and farms throughout the country owned and operated by middle-income Americans that are affected by existing estate tax laws. These small businesses may appear to be economically significant on paper, but often they have little liquid assets to cover estate tax liabilities. Historically, these businesses have created most of the new jobs in this country and fueled the growth of the economy. The unfortunate result of high estate taxes is that families are frequently forced to sell off part of the family business to pay the taxes incurred by the deceased family member's estate.”