Repeal is on the money
Published 12:00 am Friday, April 6, 2001
The U.
Friday, April 06, 2001
The U.S. House of Representatives’ vote Wednesday for a complete phase-out of estate and gift taxes is a victory for the state’s small business owners and farmers.
The plan passed by a 274-154 vote calls for the phase-out of the so-called "death tax" during a 10-year period. The Republican plan won’t be fully implemented until 2011.
Elimination of the "death tax" will cost the federal government $185 billion. When the plan is fully implemented it also will wipe out Minnesota’s estate tax. The state currently collects $60 million to $90 million a year in estate taxes, according to the Legal Services Division of the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
Elimination of the "death tax" will increase families’ abilities to pass farms and small businesses on from one generation to another. Such an outcome will result in growth of small businesses and the continued existence of the smaller family farms. Small businesses and the family farm remain a vital part of our local economy as well as the overall health of the nation’s economy.
The estate tax bill next moves to the Senate.