Dusty Johnson: “I rise to talk about the estate tax repeal bill which is currently pending before this body. Like all of my colleagues…”

“I rise to talk about the estate tax repeal bill which is currently pending before this body. Like all of my colleagues, I deplore conditions that lead to families losing their family businesses and farms. The family farm is at dire risk of becoming extinct. Some of my colleagues want to attribute this to the estate tax which they claim prevents succeeding generations from carrying on their heritage. Rightfully, that blame belongs to a failed farm policy more than a progressive tax policy. The failed Freedom to Farm policy has driven more farmers out of business than any inheritance tax. In my state of South Dakota, 102 estates had to pay federal estate tax in 1997. That figure amounts to .2 percent of all estates for that year. I support bringing more relief to the bulk of these estates that are trying to pass down family businesses and farms to their children, but the proposal before us does nothing for these families for ten years while bringing immediate help to the elite of the wealthy.”