Rep. Franks Opposes Democrats' Death Tax Bill

"The Last Thing We Should be Doing in an Economic Recession is Raising Taxes on Hardworking American Families"

December 3, 2009 - Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) made the following statement after voting against H.R. 4154, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act, which makes permanent the estate tax or death tax. The legislation would tax an individual's assets at death, despite those assets having already been taxed during that individuals life.

Franks stated, "I have always been a strong advocate of a full and permanent repeal of the federal Death Tax. Unfortunately, despite their bailouts and stimulus package resulting in a more than 10% unemployment rate, the Democrats in Congress continue to believe that government is the answer to getting our economy back on solid footing. H.R. 4154 is a fundamentally flawed piece of legislation that makes permanent an unfair tax while neither setting a reasonable rate, providing an appropriate exemption amount, or indexing that amount to inflation.

"Not only does the Death Tax discourage individual savings, it punishes the hard working Americans who have dedicated their lives to building a successful family business. Confiscating 45 percent of a family’s after-tax savings, the federal Death Tax penalizes savings, investment, entrepreneurship and ultimately the growth of the economy. This is the last thing this Congress should be doing during an economic recession.

"American families have been burdened by this stifling tax for too long. We should not be penalizing the individuals and families who spend a lifetime embracing the values of thriftiness, saving, and investment.

In 2001, the Republican-led Congress enacted a phase-out of the estate tax, which just four weeks from now will fully repeal the tax for a year. In addition, on six occasions since enactment of the 2001 phase-out, House Republicans supported efforts to make that estate tax repeal permanent.