Peterson Votes To Permanently Remove Family Business Tax : We Need To Protect Family Business

Federal Gov Article, Jan 28, 2005

Congressman Peterson voted this week to permanently repeal the estate tax, known as the 'death tax.' "For far too long, the death tax has forced many of our farmers and small business owners to sell their business rather than passing it on to their children and grandchildren," said Peterson, who is a cosponsor of the bill. "When the owner of a small business or family farm dies, the value of their business is added to the owner’s estate and taxed by the IRS at rates as high as 55 percent.

To pay this excessive tax, families who have worked for generations to build a successful farm or business are often forced to sell just to pay the bill to the federal government," explained Peterson. "The death tax is especially unfair because it taxes family farmers and small business owners twice. It's not the large corporations that are hurt by the death tax -- it’s the families who invest their entire life savings into building a farm or small business.” According to Peterson, “When small business owners and farmers are forced to sell their business, it not only devastates the families who are involved but also harms the local economy and hurts our quality of life in rural Pennsylvania. Our rural economy depends on protecting our family farms and helping small businesses grow and in some cases become large employers.

Instead, the death tax forces families to sell off their precious farms and puts many growing companies out of business or into the hands of large corporations who do not have the same kind of interest or involvement in our local community. I am pleased that the House has voted once again to do away with this egregious tax, and I urge my friends in the Senate to bring up this critical legislation for a vote. Our families and communities are depending on it.”