Washington, DC, May 4, 2006—The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) applauded President Bush’s call for Congress to permanently repeal the estate tax in his remarks to the American Council of Engineering Companies today.
Yesterday the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) reported that estate tax collections totaled $761 billion and cost the economy $847 billion from 1942 to 2001. “The JEC report illustrates what NAM members have said for years, that the tax places a tremendous burden on American businesses, discourages savings and investments, hinders job creation, and could force a sale of a family-owned business,” said Bob Shepler, NAM’s director of corporate finance & tax. “By the JEC’s estimate, this tax actually cost the economy more than it adds to the Treasury.”
While Congress phased out the death tax in 2001, a “sunset” provision terminates all tax relief at the end of 2010. “It’s time for the Senate to act, as the House already has, and eliminate this onerous and unfair tax for good,” Shepler continued. “The JEC study finds no compelling reason to keep the tax and a number of compelling reasons to reduce or abolish it.”
