Dear Editor,

The Gonzalez Cannon reports that “Farm Bureau leaders are praising U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady’s push to permanently repeal the federal estate tax” and that they support his bi-partisan “death tax” repeal bill, HR 1259, because of the number of farmers who are affected by the tax.

Indeed, we at the American Family Business Foundation found that nearly 10,000 farmers and small business owners will face the death tax this year alone.  That’s ten thousand too many, in our opinion.

Estate tax repeal would benefit farmers, but it would also beef up government coffers.  Our economic analysis shows that HR 1259 would increase government revenues by $89 billion over a ten-year budget period.  Also, GDP would increase by about 2.25 percent, private sector output and labor income (hours worked times hourly wage) by about 2.34 percent and capital stock by 6.1 percent.

Congress can’t afford to ignore the estate tax.  If they stall and the tax jumps to 55 percent on all estates over $1 million starting January 1, 2013 – as it is set to do – then even more farmers will face this unnecessary tax.

Dick Patten
President
American Family Business Foundation
Washington, D.C.

Read original here.