Briefly . . . Killing the Death Tax

Letter to the Editor in The Winchester Star

The Winchester Star
Letters to the Editor
2 N. Kent St.
Winchester, Va. 22601

The House of Delegates recently voted to end the rightly-called death tax but, at such funerals as this, there is no need for mourners.

The death tax can, arguably, produce a minimum of revenue for the state, but it also destroys jobs and undercuts family farms and businesses.

There is an old saying that you can t take it (money) with you when you die. But just because you can t take it with you doesn t mean you have to give it to the state either.

Individuals and parents enjoy storing up savings for their children and grandchildren, not for the state. The state has already had its take through income taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes, and other various revenue enhancing measures.

After living an honorable life, a man or woman should be able to die in peace and not worry about whether relatives will have to sell the farm or the family business to pay the death tax.

This legislation should be passed by the entire General Assembly and signed into law by the governor. Few people will be mourning when the death tax is, itself, buried.