Kaine supports ending estate tax

Kaine supports ending estate tax

He said that he supports phasing out the tax in concert with the phaseout of the federal estate tax.

By McGregor McCance
981-3341
The Roanoke Times

Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine supports a repeal of Virginia's estate tax as a way to help farmers and others, he told members of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation on Monday.

Speaking via teleconference to the Farm Bureau's annual convention in Hot Springs, Kaine said the state should "make this a priority and place the estate tax on the same schedule as the federal estate tax for elimination."

Plans to end the Virginia estate tax, which farmers say can force them to sell inherited family farms to avoid large tax bills, were considered during the last General Assembly session but weren't approved.

That proposal would have eliminated the tax on any estate up to $10 million in value, and would have exempted small businesses and family farms altogether.

Kaine said he would support ending the tax if he's elected governor. A Democrat, Kaine has announced his plans to run for the office next year.

Eliminating the tax would cost Virginia an estimated $150 million per year. In an interview after his Farm Bureau speech, Kaine said that he supports phasing out the tax over several years in concert with the phaseout of the federal version of the tax.

His likely Republican opponent, Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, told Farm Bureau members earlier this week that he also would work to repeal the estate tax, as well as support establishing agricultural enterprise zones that would offer tax breaks and incentives designed to help farms and other agricultural operations grow.

Kaine said that creating agricultural zones is an idea worth exploring.

During his teleconference Wednesday, Kaine said he recognizes that farmers share challenges with other small businesses, including the rising costs of health insurance.

A commission established by Kaine to study those costs has recommended allowing farms and other small businesses to form pools that may put them in better bargaining positions to get lower insurance rates than they could get alone.

Kilgore and Kaine offered similar thoughts on the threats and potential benefits of globalization - and low-cost imports - on Virginia agriculture.

"We needn't fear foreign competition," Kaine said. "We've got advantages, too. I think world markets are great opportunities for Virginia agriculture."


Copyright 2004