Missouri - Wilson files bill to repeal estate tax

Missouri - Wilson files bill to repeal estate tax

Neosho Daily News, MO

Missouri State Rep. Kevin Wilson (R-Neosho) has filed legislation to repeal the estate tax within Missouri.

This is simply a fairness issue, said Wilson. Missourians do not deserve to be double taxed on income and assets that they have already been taxed on throughout their lives.

House Bill 1351 would repeal portions of section 145 in the Missouri Revised Statues as it relates to the estate tax within the state of Missouri. The estate tax, or death tax as it is known, places a tax on the transfer of money or assets from a deceased person to their heir.

The death tax punishes the American values of saving and investment by penalizing individuals for saving, investing and building successful farms and businesses, said Wilson. In the United States, more than 70 percent of all small businesses do not extend past the first generation due to taxation rates on inheritance for family members and is the leading cause of dissolution of small businesses in the United States.

Currently, the estate tax has been phased out at the federal level. However, the legislation that President Bush signed repealing the federal estate tax has a sunset of 2011. HB 1351, according to Wilson, would permanently repeal the estate tax in Missouri. Whether the U.S. Congress acts or not to repeal the estate tax, the repeal would be permanent within Missouri.

This piece of legislation would level the playing field for all hard working, tax-paying Missourians who have strived to build something to leave their family when they pass on, said Wilson. This would allow all Missourians the opportunity to pass the fruits of their labor and hard work on to their family after they pass away without having to worry whether their children will lose it all due to high estate taxes.