Apr 18 2005
The nation's home builders today applauded House passage of legislation to permanently repeal the estate tax, noting that it would help small family-owned businesses create more jobs and continue to prosper.
"Abolishing the death tax would eliminate one of the greatest threats to the future viability of family businesses. It means that the heirs of family-run home building companies would no longer have to worry about liquidating company assets to pay for the tax." said David Wilson, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a custom builder from Ketchum, Idaho.
Introduced earlier this year by Reps. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) and Robert E. 'Bud' Cramer (D-Ala.), H.R. 8, the "Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act" was approved by a broad bipartisan 272 to 162 margin.
Under current law that was enacted in 2001, the estate tax is slowly being reduced and will be eliminated entirely in 2010. However, the following year it comes back to life at rates as high as 55 percent.
While reductions in the tax are welcome, builders would prefer no death tax at all and many are saying that the scheduled cuts in the tax over this decade make planning their estates more difficult. If they don't keep up with changes in the schedule, nearly half of their estates can be lost to federal taxes after they die.
"Hard-working Americans should not have to pay the federal government more than 50 percent of their estate at death" said Wilson.
Noting that small, family-owned businesses serve as the backbone of our economy, generating the lion's share of job growth, Wilson said that the death tax robs small businesses of working capital that could be used to expand and create jobs.
"This issue is of particular importance to the housing industry, which is comprised largely of small businesses. NAHB is pleased to support this important measure rescinding the tax death tax, and we urge the Senate to act swiftly on companion legislation S. 420" he said.