Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, last week the Democrats brought back the death tax. This calendar year, there has been no estate tax, and I guess in some ways it was the year to die. But on January 1, because of the actions of the House Democrats, the death tax roars back at a rate of 55 percent after the first $1 million. Now that means that your heirs pay nothing on the first million dollars that you leave them, but they pay 55 percent tax on every dollar beyond that. I talked to a constituent recently who says just during his lifetime, he and his family had bought the family business back from the government three times, every time a generation passed away. In other words, the heirs have had to essentially buy back that family business over and over again. Now, a million dollars sounds like a lot of money to most of us, but when you are talking about acreage or buildings, equipment, homes, inventory, even livestock if you are talking about a family farm, it isn't hard to exceed the first exemption. Small businesses can easily be punished by this tax. Why is it fair to essentially ask people to buy back a large portion of their family farms or businesses on which they already pay taxes? Ask the Democrats. ____________________”