Political Quotes

“I rise in support of my amendment No. 607, to create a deficit-neutral reserve fund to repeal the Federal estate tax, better known as the death tax. My amendment will put the Senate on record in support of eliminating this destructive and ill-conceived tax on American families in their time of grief. It has often been said but it is worth repeating: A death in the family should not be a taxable event. I agree wholeheartedly with a piece in the newspaper earlier this week by Harry Alford, president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, who writes that the death tax ``disproportionately hampers minority and women-owned businesses across the country'' and ``creates an unfair situation for minority businesses which have finally started to accumulate wealth within the last 60 years.'' The death tax also hits farmers particularly hard. According to USDA statistics on cropland values, a significant percentage of farms in my State of South Dakota and States such as North Dakota, Montana, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, Minnesota, Florida, and Missouri remain subject to this double tax even at the higher estate tax exception limit. Incremental relief from this unfair tax is not enough. The time has come for full repeal. I urge support for my amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.”