Sylvester Turner: “I am cosponsor of the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005 because this tax is an unfair burden on American families.…”

“I am cosponsor of the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005 because this tax is an unfair burden on American families. The death tax puts many small businesses, those run predominantly by families, at a great financial disadvantage. According to the Small Business Administration, in 2001 in the Dayton, Ohio, metro area, which is in my district, nearly 62,000 people worked for businesses that employ less than 20 people. Three of my constituents, Jenell Ross; her mother, Norma; and her brother Rob, run a small business, Ross Motor Cars in Centerville, Ohio. When Jenell's father unexpectedly passed away in 1997, the Ross family received a tax bill for nearly half the value of their family business. I would like to tell their story in Jenell Ross's words. She says, ``30 years ago my father took the chance of a lifetime. Determined to achieve the American Dream, he invested everything he had into Ross Motor Cars. Like a lot of people, my father thought he would live forever. ``He didn't. ``When he died unexpectedly in 1997, the overwhelming responsibility of keeping the family business afloat fell squarely'' to us. We could never have prepared ourselves for the shock of receiving a tax bill nearly half the value of the dealership, where nearly 90 percent'' of the assets were ``tied up in nonliquid assets such as inventory, equipment, buildings, and land. ``Does the death tax impact family-run small businesses? Yes.…”