Political Quotes

“in a letter to a friend, Benjamin Franklin wrote that ``In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes.'' The two will soon go hand in hand unless Congress acts to fully and permanently repeal the Death Tax. After a lifetime of paying taxes the Death Tax unfairly imposes a double tax on small, family-owned businesses and farms. Our family farmers appear rich on paper, but in reality are two poor growing seasons from bankruptcy. The Death Tax does not discriminate--it just forces the family to sell off the land to another larger farm in order to pay the tax. If Congress truly cares about the family farmer the best thing that can be done is to kill the Death Tax. Mr. Speaker, most small business owners have the entire value of their business in their estate. With the Death Tax, the government immediately ``inherits'' a 37 to 55 percent piece of the estate, a blow that many family businesses and farms cannot survive. Taxing small business owner's hard work in death punishes their families and threatens family businesses across the country. The mere threat of the tax forces business owners to spend thousands of dollars on accountants, lawyers, and financial planners so that they can attempt to ensure the survival of their business after their death. Mr. Speaker, I grew up on a family farm, and owned and operated a small business before serving in this House. The Death Tax is real and has tangible effects on real people.…”