WASHINGTON (Jan. 26, 2017) — Congressional Republicans from South Dakota have reintroduced identical House and Senate bills to repeal the federal estate tax.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., are sponsors of the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017.
Sen. Thune said his bill "would finally end this purely punitive tax that has the potential to hit family farms, ranches and businesses as the result of the owner's death."
Sen. Thune said the estate tax too often punishes hardworking Americans.
"In an environment where it's frequently too difficult and costly for family-owned farms to be passed from one generation to the next, we should be knocking down hurdles to find ways to incentivize families to retain these multi-generation businesses," he said. "Repealing the death tax would be a big step in the right direction."
Estate tax repeal is a major issue for hundreds of business groups including as the Tire Industry Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the International Franchise Association.
The NFIB issued a statement thanking Sen. Thune and Rep. Noem for reintroducing the estate-tax repeal bill.
"While only a few small businesses may end up being subject to the estate tax, many undertake costly and complicated financial planning to limit potential tax liability," the NFIB said.
The estate tax is especially harmful to family-owned businesses, NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan said.
"Just because they own property that has a high value doesn't mean they have the liquid assets available to pay the estate tax," Ms. Duggan said.