back

Can We Afford to Repeal the Estate Tax?

By: Author Unknown, http://www.ourfuture.org/

 May 30, 2002

They are at it again: cutting taxes for the rich, and giving the rest of us the shaft. Sometime in June Senate Republicans will bring up an amendment to permanently repeal the estate tax.

The repeal benefits only families with estates of more than $2 million, the wealthiest 2% of all American families, while draining funds vital for investment in education and for saving Social Security for everyone. This is so wrong-headed that the wealthiest Americans, led by William Gates Sr., have mobilized to try to stop the repeal.
 
Last summer as part of the massive Bush tax cut, the estate tax was temporarily repealed for one year -- 2010 -- and will be reinstated in 2011. This year, the House passed a bill to permanently repeal the estate tax, a tax that provides important revenues which all Americans depend on to finance education, health programs, and the public investment we need to ensure economic opportunity for all Americans.

98% of American families do not pay estate taxes. The estate tax is applied when someone leaves behind an estate worth at least $1 million at the time of death. There is no tax on the first $1 million, a limit which rises gradually to $3.5 million by 2009. Additionally, there is no limit on amounts of money that can be given to charitable organizations in order to lower the size of the estate to be taxed.

We need you to help spread the word about the impending Senate vote. Republicans have received assurances from Majority Leader Tom Daschle that the Senate will address the issue.

At a time when our nation has so many pressing needs, ensuring the strength of Social Security and Medicare, providing for homeland security, and educating our children, we just cannot afford to repeal the estate tax.

http://www.ombwatch.org/estatetax

http://www.fairestatetax.org.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.