Stephanie Herseth Sandlin: “It is time to honor the commitment we made to American families when we passed the tax cuts last year. It is time to…”

“It is time to honor the commitment we made to American families when we passed the tax cuts last year. It is time to help family farmers and family business owners plan for their retirement. It is time to pass legislation that makes those tax cuts permanent. Since my election to Congress in 1996, I have consistently supported efforts to eliminate the federal estate tax. Over the years, as I have visited with folks all over my district in northeast Texas, I have heard horror stories from families who were forced to sell all or part of their family business or farm just to pay the estate taxes--which reduced their inheritances by over 55 percent. I found that only about 30 percent of family businesses make it beyond one generation, and only 13 percent make it to the third generation. That simply isn't what America is about. Farmers, especially, struggle every day to just get by. Farmers were left out in the cold during the economic boon of the late 1990's and suffered as others were acquiring riches. Eliminating the estate tax is one way to help farmers pass along their limited savings to their children, and their children's children. Not only does this punitive tax cause financial problems for families, some of whom are forced to sell property that has been in the family for generations or businesses built over a lifetime, but local economies are also hurt when jobs are lost and businesses close.”