Testimony for the Record

Loretta Kartch
7757 Coventry Lane
Frankfort, IL 60423

U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
Washington, DC 20510

November 14, 2007

Federal Estate Tax: Uncertainty in Planning Under the Current Law

Chairman Baucus, Ranking Member Grassley and members of the Committee:

Thank you for this opportunity to share testimony on the effect of the Federal Estate Tax, also known as the death tax. There is no other tax which more unfairly discriminates against responsible wealth creation and the honorable intentions of family members to help provide for the next generation.

My brother was a successful business owner and actor. He also was a dedicated family man who believed in setting an example of hard work, frugality, and love for his family. In this spirit, he avoided spending his money on wasteful material pursuits, and instead, willed a great deal of his wealth to his sisters and nieces and nephews. I believe that his efforts represent what is noble and honorable. According to the death tax, his intentions were selfish and needed to be punished.

When my brother died, I was forced to hire an expensive accountant in order to pay the death tax by the 9-month anniversary of his death. Initially it looked as though I would need to take out a loan. Instead, my family elected to sell his home, and use the sale to pay for the death tax return. It bothers me that any of my brother’s wealth should need to be sold. He worked hard in life, and his house was something he took pride in and hoped to pass on to his family at death.

The death tax is wrong. It punishes hard-workers simply for being successful, and for not consuming their wealth in their lifetime. My brother believed in the inherent right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” which for him meant to liberty to pass on his success to his children. It is time to restore the full meaning of this promise by abolishing the death tax once and for all.

Respectfully submitted:

Loretta Kartch