Slaying the Death Tax: Coalition member asks Virginians to get involved

The Family Foundation will once again make repealing the "death tax" a top priority when the General Assembly convenes for its 2004 session in January.

Last year's overwhelming support for death tax repeal failed only when Governor Mark Warner chose to ignore the facts and public opinion and vetoed the measure. Other than the Governor, bipartisan support was widespread.

In fact, 104 of 140 members of the General Assembly voted to repeal the tax during last year's session. We fell just 2 votes short in the Senate of overriding the Governor's veto.

To help pass the repeal, The Family Foundation joined a 60-member coalition of business, agricultural, civic and political organizations. The Family Foundation will once again work with Virginians for Death Tax Repeal to bring an end to this repressive tax.

The death tax is unfair to family farmers and small business owners who have been taxed on their estates and often have to liquidate assets to pay the tax. Essentially, they are forced sell the farm or business to pay the taxes. Farms and businesses that have been in families for generations are lost to the appetite of big government. The federal death tax is already in the process of being phased out, and it is expected that at least 30 other states will have eliminated their versions of the death tax by 2005.

Virginians support the repeal in overwhelming numbers. A poll conducted last year found that 82 percent of Virginians support eliminating the death tax, and 67 percent believe the death tax is unfair.

Virginia should not be left behind in this effort. As the national and state economies begin to recover from recession, Virginia must increase job creation and business investment to remain an economic leader.

Repealing the death tax is essential to keeping Virginia competitive with other states so we don't lose essential jobs and investment. After defeating the repeal in 2003, Governor Warner promised that he would "work with the legislature to address estate tax reform next year (2004)." While [the coaliton] hopes the Governor will keep his promise, his record on taxes is not encouraging. In fact, just this week he blamed the car tax repeal for Virginia's budget problems, saying "sound bite sloganeering that sounded good in a campaign season got Virginia into the worst fiscal hole it's seen in a century." Since that statement comes from someone who has claimed to support the full phase out of the car tax, how much can we trust his promise to work with the General Assembly on the death tax repeal?

Whatever position the Governor finally settles on, ...repealing the death tax is essential to economic growth and tax fairness for the families of Virginia, and will work to do so in 2004.

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THE FAMILY FOUNDATION OF VIRGINIA
One Capitol Square 830 East Main Street, Suite 1201 Richmond, VA 23219,
Phone: 804-343-0010, Fax: 804-343-0050 www.familyfoundation.org