WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Warren Davidson today led 72 Republican Members of Congress in sending a joint letter to Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican leaders urging support for a full repeal of the death tax in tax reform 2.0.

 

Rep. Davidson led a similar letter in 2017 which had 54 signers.

 

Rep. Davidson first called for a full repeal of the death tax in tax reform in October 2017 after successfully defeating a proposal that would have increased the death tax by nearly 30 percent. The proposal to increase the death tax was first brought to Rep. Davidson’s attention by a constituent in Springfield, Ohio.

 

The full text of the letter is below. You can read a signed copy of the letter here.

 

 

The Honorable Paul Ryan                                         The Honorable Kevin Brady

Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives                  Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means

H-232, U.S. Capitol                                                   1102 Longworth HOB

Washington, D.C. 20515                                           Washington, D.C. 20515

 

 

Dear Speaker Ryan and Chairman Brady:

 

The undersigned members favor full repeal of federal estate tax (death tax) and will support your efforts to end the unfair death tax in Tax Reform 2.0. Full repeal of the death tax has been a conservative priority for nearly 40 years and Republicans are closer than ever to finally killing the death tax once and for all.

 

Support for repeal among House Republicans is nearly unanimous. Representative Noem's Death Tax Repeal Act reached over 100 cosponsors in the House of Representatives and Chairman Brady's Death Tax Repeal Act passed the House 240-179 on a bipartisan basis in April of 2015. Calls for repeal are strong from the Freedom Caucus, the Tuesday group, and rank and file Republicans. Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Sanford Bishop (D-GA) recently reintroduced the Death Tax Repeal Act to continue the push for full repeal. Repeal of the death tax is overwhelmingly supported by the public; an April 2017 NPR/Ipsos poll found 76 percent of respondents favor abolishing the tax.

 

Given this strong support, we urge you to finish the job and fully repeal the estate tax in Tax Reform 2.0. Last year, the Senate version of tax reform fell short of the House’s intent by providing only temporary relief while leaving the death tax in place. This change has provided welcome relief to family businesses who can now protect twice the amount of property from the death tax. The scheduled expiration of this policy in 2026, however, provides little certainty to business owners planning for succession and does little to cut down on expensive estate planning costs associated with the death tax.

 

Many of us are continuing to hear from family businesses, farmers, and ranchers in our districts about the need for repeal - not only because of the harm a 40 percent tax at death causes, but also because of their yearly compliance burden. Businesses planning for growth should not have to divert money away from expanding and creating jobs to pay for expensive estate planning and large insurance policies.

 

The Republican majority was largely elected because of a movement across America to boost employment and reform our ailing tax code. Repealing the estate tax in Tax Reform 2.0 would accomplish both of those things. A study before passage of TCJA by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation shows that repeal would create 159,000 new jobs and increase GDP by nearly one percent over a decade. Over 700 economists from both sides of the aisle, including four Nobel Laureates, signed a letter last year calling for repeal of the death tax because of its negative effect on jobs and the economy.

 

The only permanent solution to the death tax supported by House Republicans is full repeal. Death should not be a taxable event. We look forward to working with you to pass tax reform that further simplifies the tax code, lowers taxes on middle class families, and eliminates the death tax once and for all.

 

 

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