Statement by James L. Martin

In a town where con jobs are a daily occurrence, the biggest con job of all is the Democrats’ canard that repeal of the Death Tax is a ‘windfall for the wealthy.’ They say it is a ‘tax cut for the rich’ because it affects less than 2% of those who die.

Then why is it that nearly 80% of the public favors repeal? It’s because the public cites the unfairness of a tax imposed solely on after-tax assets.

The biggest fable of all is that only about 3,000 super rich families get this tax break. The truth is that most of these set up trusts and foundations to protect their assets and who can blame them.

To the canard that the lost revenue could be used for defense buildups, there will actually be more revenue for defense purposes due to expansion of existing businesses and start up of new ones.

And I am paraphrasing self-described ‘unrequited liberal’ law professor, Edward McCaffery, of the University of Southern California who was once for keeping the estate tax but now says it’s time to give ‘serious thought to repeal.’

As someone who has fought for ten years to abolish what I’ve named the ‘Death Tax,’ I say that ‘dying should not be a taxable event.’

Senator Daschle, who insisted on a parliamentary maneuver requiring 60 votes instead of 51, will have to answer to voters in South Dakota, who overwhelmingly favor repeal.

The death tax has brought nothing but misery to the owners of countless family businesses and family farms in recent years. Enacted and repealed three times in the past it is time to kill a fourth and final time.

The public, seniors especially, is hopping mad about a tax triggered only by death. It is past time to repeal this socially unconscionable, negative revenue-producing, job robbing tax permanently. In my nearly 40 years working in Washington, I’ve seen a lot of taxes come but not many go. Here’s one tax whose time to go has come.