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Guest Commentary: April 16, 2001
The Death Tax Needs To Die
The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
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Have you ever built a sand castle, only to see it ruined by a powerful wave from the ocean, a strong gust of wind, or a determined and vengeful sibling?
For children, a day at the beach can often turn into hours of digging, smoothing, planning and molding the perfect sand castle as they envision an intricate, beautifully sculpted fortress, with surrounding moats and—if you are a really imaginative child—a few draw bridges too. Just when it seems your work of art is complete, a detonating force inevitably destroys it. With shoulders slumped, jaw open in disbelief, you stare at the demolished remnants of your castle feeling utterly worthless because you have nothing to show for your labor.
As a child, that feeling of working hard for nothing can devastate you—devastate you for about 30 minutes until you find another activity with which to preoccupy yourself. That same feeling of "all for nothing" can come again, as an adult, when the business or farm that your family built from the ground up gets stripped down to nothing following a death of a family member. But this time, the devastation doesn’t go away after 30 minutes.
Today, family businesses and farms are dying out because of the death tax, a tax of up to 55% assessed on a deceased person’s estate. Less than half of all family-owned businesses survive the death of a founder and only about five percent survive to the third generation. Acres of family farms are sold to the highest bidder and small businesses are liquidated due to this burdensome tax.
This week, Congress passed The Death Tax Elimination Act of 2001, a plan to end the unfair tax so that family businesses and farms can be passed down to children and grandchildren. With America’s budget surpluses, now is the best opportunity to get rid of a tax that kills family farms and businesses.
It has been said that only in America can one be given a certificate at birth, a license at marriage and a bill at death. The death tax threatens the American dream because it discourages the freedom and entrepreneurial spirit on which this nation was founded. We should be encouraging businesses, especially small businesses, not creating obstacles for their existence.
Eliminating the death tax protects and preserves an adult’s sand castle from the crashing wave of the IRS. No one should have to meet the undertaker and the IRS on the same day. The time is now to end, once and for all, the federal death tax. The winners will be the West Virginia consumers, small businesses and family farms that will not close up shop because of a tax that makes no sense.
 How to contact Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia)
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