WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Warren Davidson today led 54 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 the tax reform bill which heads to conference committee with the Senate.
In October, Rep. Davidson called for a full repeal of the death tax in the tax reform bill 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.
In October, Rep. Davidson called for a full repeal of the death tax in the tax reform bill 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. 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
CC: Majority Leader McCarthy and Majority Whip Steve Scalise
Dear Speaker Ryan and Chairman Brady:
Thank you for helping House Republicans keep our promise to repeal the death tax in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by this body. 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. Repeal of the death tax is also overwhelmingly supported by the public; an April 2017 NPR/Ipsos poll found 76 percent of respondents favor abolishing the tax.
Support for repeal among House Republicans is unanimous. Congresswoman Noem's Death Tax Repeal Act currently has over 100 cosponsors in the House and Chairman Brady's Death Tax Repeal Act passed the House 240-179 on a bipartisan basis in April of 2015. Calls for repeal were so strong from the Freedom Caucus, the Tuesday group, and rank and file Republicans that the House went through the process of regular order to pass Chairman Brady's legislation as a stand alone measure.
Given this overwhelming support, we strongly urge you to pursue a solution in conference that repeals the estate tax. We are concerned about the current Senate plan, which falls short of the long term Republican goal by providing only temporary relief while leaving the death tax in place. The Senate's temporary policy would provide no certainty to business owners planning for succession and do nothing to cut down on expensive estate planning costs associated with the death tax.
The Republican majority was largely elected because of a movement across America to move to sounder fiscal policy and reform our ailing tax code. A vote to repeal the estate tax would accomplish both of those things. A study by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation shows that repeal would create 159,000 new jobs and increase GDP by nearly one percent over a decade. This increase in GDP and new jobs would bring in enough revenue to nearly offset the loss of revenue from repeal.
The temporary Senate policy is out of step with the President, the House, and the tax reform joint framework released in September. 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.
We urge you to seek an agreement in conference that achieves repeal of the hated and economically destructive death tax. We look forward to working with you to pass tax reform that simplifies the tax code, lowers taxes on middle class families, and kills the death tax once and for all.
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