Today, the 60 Plus Association called on seniors in Indiana to push for full state Death Tax repeal. Jim Martin, Chairman of the 60 Plus Association representing 7.2 million seniors across the country had this to say about repeal of the Indiana Death Tax:

“Under the leadership of Governor Mitch Daniels, Indiana is facing a budget surplus of $500 million and reserve funds of over $2 billion. In 2012, the Indiana legislature passed a phase out of the state’s Death Tax. This move was a positive step in the direction of full repeal but this phase-out passed last year allows the Indiana Death Tax to hang around until 2022, destroying businesses and jobs for another nine years. Governor Pence and the legislator should act now to bring the Death Tax to an early death in Indiana. This despicable tax hurts Indiana’s economy and makes it harder for seniors to pass on their life savings to loved ones.

“The 60 Plus Association is strongly urging Governor Mike Pence to take up the Senate budget proposal to eliminate the Death Tax effective January 1 of this year. Indiana is currently one of the 21 states that levy a Death Tax. This puts the state at a disadvantage by driving away wealthy residents and family businesses. For this reason, Forbes recently listed Indiana as a state in which “not to die in 2013.” The trend on the state level is towards fully eliminating Death Taxes. Neighboring Ohio repealed their state Death Tax effective this year and Tennessee recently repealed their Death Tax to improve their state economy. A study by the Laffer Associates found that had Tennessee repealed their state’s Death Tax 10 years earlier, their economy would have grown by 14 percent and had an additional $7 billion in revenue to the state. Indiana should join the list of states with no Death Tax to help encourage job growth and boost revenue.

“Governor Pence has a long history of supporting repeal of Death Taxes. As a Congressman, Governor Pence consistently pushed legislation to fully and permanently repeal the federal Death Tax and the Governor campaigned on ending the Indiana inheritance tax in his run for governor last year.

“By postponing the end of the tax into the next decade, Hoosiers are risking losing residents to Ohio to escape this tax. The time for full repeal is now. I strongly urge Governor Pence to step up to lead the state towards immediate repeal of the Death Tax. I presented candidate Pence with a pro-Senior award during his successful bid for Congress and I look forward to presenting him with the Ben Franklin award for protecting seniors from the Death Tax after full and immediate repeal is passed in Indiana.”

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