Letter to Senator Kyl Regarding the Death Tax

The Honorable John Kyl

United States Senate

730 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Kyl:

On behalf of the 280,000 members of Citizens for a Sound Economy, I strongly support your efforts to permanently eliminate the Death Tax.

For the first time in a generation, the American people received a significant tax cut when Congress passed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act of 2001. The tax cut reduces marginal tax rates at every level over a period of years and is intended to eliminate the Death Tax. The President fought hard to eliminate the Death Tax. The simple fact is: The Death Tax needs to be buried. It is anti-job, anti-family, and anti-American. It stifles entrepreneurship and is the leading cause of dissolution for most small businesses. A 1998 study by the Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress concluded that it is not only ineffective in reducing inequality, it may actually increase the inequality of consumption.

Unfortunately, Congress did not make the elimination of the Death Tax permanent. After a long transition to elimination, in 2010, tax law reverts back to the punitive and counterproductive pre-2001 Death Tax rates. This makes no economic sense, and worse it is simply unfair to ALL American families hoping to make difficult and emotional decisions about estate planning.

We strongly support your amendment to make the Death Tax repeal permanent. It is a step for sensible economic policy and it makes the tax code fairer and less complicated. Your efforts represent a step towards fundamental tax reform. We urge all Senators to support your amendment.

Sincerely

Paul Beckner

President & CEO

CC: United States Senate