CSE applauds Senate killing the “Death Tax”

CSE today praised the Senate for passing H.R. 8, “The Death Tax Elimination Act.”

“Repealing the Death Tax is the right thing to do for American family farms, businesses and the New Economy,” said Citizens for a Sound Economy President Paul Beckner. “It is also the right thing to do to protect American values.”

Earlier this month, Mr. Beckner sent a letter to House members urging support of this important legislation. Today, nine Senate Democrats signed on with Republicans to pass the bill 59-39.

But Senators failed to keep the telephone excise tax elimination amendment attached to the bill. This 3 percent tax on talking dates back to 1898, when, in the midst of the Spanish-American War, Congress voted in this “luxury” tax to help fund the war. The war has been over for a century; the tax should be eliminated. In addition to other state and local taxes, some callers and Internet users are paying more than 20 percent in taxes on their telephone bills. Congress must repeal this regressive tax on talking.

CSE Director of Tax and Budget Policy Scott A. Hodge’s Capitol Comment about the “Death Tax,” can be found at: http://www.cse.org/informed/751.html

A Tech Byte on the federal excise tax, written by James K. Glassman, can be found at: http://www.cse.org/informed/internetTax.html