mr. speaker , benjamin franklin noted over 200 years ago that `` in this world nothing can be said to be certain , except death and taxes. '' unfortunately , the convergence of these two inescapable events , in the form of the federal estate tax , results in a number of destructive outcomes in terms of slower economic growth , reduced social mobility , and wasted productive activity . 
moreover , the costs imposed by the estate tax far outweigh any benefits that the tax might produce . 
for these reasons , among others , i urge my colleagues to join with me in support of permanent repeal of the federal estate tax . 
the estate tax has been enacted four times in our nation 's history -- each time in response to the exigent financial straits deriving from war . 
in three of those instances ( 1797-1802 , 1862-70 , and 1898-1902 ) , the estate tax was repealed shortly thereafter . 
most recently , the estate tax was reintroduced during world war i ( 1916 ) and has existed ever since . 
what was meant to bring short-term budgetary relief has become a permanent burden on america 's farmers , small business owners and families . 
some observers might believe that the estate tax is free from serious controversy . 
for example , it is often claimed that the tax only falls on the `` rich '' and thus serves to reduce income inequality . 
other supporters of the estate tax point to the $ 22 billion in tax revenues for 2003 , or to the incentive for charitable bequests . 
nonetheless , there are many reasons to question the value of taxing the accumulated savings of productive , entrepreneurial citizens . 
not the least of these reasons is the widely-held belief that families who work hard and accumulate savings should not be punished for sound budgeting . 
additionally , it is unclear whether the estate tax raises any revenue at all , since most if not all of its receipts are offset by losses under the income tax . 
the freedom to attain prosperity and accumulate wealth is the basis of the `` american dream. '' we are taught that through hard work we can achieve that dream and , god willing , pass it on to our children . 
unfortunately , for many the estate tax turns that dream into a nightmare . 
the current tax treatment of a person 's life accumulations is so onerous that when one dies , the children are often forced to turn over half of their inheritance to the federal government . 
the estate tax , which is imposed at an alarming 45 to 47 percent rate , is higher than in any other industrialized nation in the world except japan . 
thus , many families must watch their loved one 's legacy being snatched away by the federal government at an agonizing time . 
this is tragically wrong and nullifies the hard work of those who have passed on . 
in the minority community there are numerous examples of the injurious effects of the estate tax . 
the chicago daily defender -- the oldest african american-owned daily newspaper in the united states -- is a good example of the unique problem presented for minority families . 
it was forced into bankruptcy due to financial burdens imposed by the estate tax . 
but , beyond that , the questions were -- was the chicago defender family forced to sell , could a minority owner be found to purchase it , or would it become a white-owned asset , reducing the overall wealth of the african american community ? 
on a smaller scale , another potential victim , a storeowner named leonard l. harris who is a first generation owner of chatham food center on the south side of chicago is frightened that all the work and value he has put into his business will be for naught because it will be stripped from his two sons . 
according to mr. harris , `` my focus has been putting my earnings back into growing the business . 
for this reason , cash resources to pay federal estate taxes , based on the way valuation is made , would force my family to sell the store in order to pay the irs within 9 months of my death . 
our yearly earnings would not cover the payment of such a high tax . 
i should know . 
i started my career as a cpa. '' these two stories are not isolated . 
according to the life insurance marketing research association , less than half of all family-owned businesses survive the death of a founder and only about 5 percent survive to the third generation . 
another recent study found the following : eight out of ten minority business owners questioned believe the federal estate tax is unfair . 
only one minority business owner in three has been able to take any steps whatsoever to prepare for the ramifications of the estate tax . 
one in four believes that his or her heirs will be forced to sell off at least part of their businesses to pay the estate tax liability . 
fully half the respondents already know a minority-owned business that has had trouble paying the tax , including some that have been forced to liquidate . 
those few minority-owned businesses that have been able to take steps to reduce their estate tax liability complain that it has detracted from their ability to meet business objectives by channeling time , energy and resources away from productive endeavors . 
many of my colleagues who are proponents of the estate tax contend that the tax adds progressivity to the tax code and provides needed tax revenue . 
they argue that the estate tax falls on wealthier and higher income individuals and increases the total tax paid by this segment of the population relative to their income . 
this helps offset the regressivity of payroll taxes and excise taxes , which fall more heavily on low-income groups relative to their income . 
they also argue that increasing the unified credit to $ 4 , $ 5 , $ 6 or $ 7 million would remove small family-owned businesses and farms from the harsh impact of the estate tax . 
i share my colleagues concerns about protecting the tax base and ensuring that our tax code remains progressive . 
however , i find these arguments in support of the estate tax unconvincing in the face of substantial evidence otherwise . 
first , there is no clear evidence that the estate tax is progressive or that larger estates are paying a greater portion of the tax . 
wealthier members of our society are able to reduce and or eliminate the impact of the estate tax by stuffing money away here and there at the suggestion of high-priced attorneys and accountants . 
similarly , tax planning techniques such as gift tax exclusions or valuation discounts reduce the size of the gross estate but do not appear in the irs data causing effective tax rates to be overstated for many larger estates . 
the institute for policy innovation recently revealed evidence of this fact in a study showing that the effective tax rate on the most valuable estates was actually lower than that on medium-sized estates . 
second , the insignificant amount of money the estate tax raises for the federal government can not justify the harmful effects it has on business owners who spend more to avoid the tax than the federal tax revenue raised . 
according to the president 's fiscal year 2005 budget , the estate and gift tax brought in $ 22.8 billion in revenues to the federal government in 2003 . 
this represents less than 1.1 percent of the total revenues out of a more than $ 2 trillion federal budget and less than the amount of money spent complying with , or trying to circumvent , the death tax . 
in 2003 , congress ' joint economic committee reported that the death tax brought in $ 22 billion in annual revenue , but cost the private sector another $ 22 billion in compliance costs . 
therefore , the total impact on the economy was a staggering $ 44 billion . 
and , when one calculates the amount of money spent on complying with the tax , the number of lost jobs resulting from businesses being sold , or the resources directed away from business expansion and into estate planning , it is clear why this punitive tax must be eliminated . 
it is also important to note that many economists believe that overall tax revenues would increase if the estate tax were repealed . 
according to a study of estate tax repeal proposals , which was prepared by dr . 
allen sinai for american council for capital formation and center for policy research , federal tax receipts would rise in response to a stronger economy , feeding back 20 cents of every dollar of estate tax reduction . 
in fact , over the years 2001 to 2008 , estate tax repeal would increase real gross domestic product by $ 90 billion to $ 150 billion , and u.s. employment by 80 , 000 to 165 , 000 . 
finally , it is not clear that increasing the unified credit to $ 6 or $ 7 million would remove small family-owned businesses and farms from the threat of the estate tax . 
the small business administration 's definition of a small business is based on industry size standards . 
for example , a construction company or grocery store with less than $ 27.5 million in annual receipts is considered a small business . 
thus , families who build their businesses past the exemption amount will continue to face estate taxes that range from the aforementioned , alarming rate of 45 to 47 percent . 
the exemption threshold would not help these small businesses . 
more significantly , without significant reform or , more appropriately , repeal , these same small businesses face the prospect of estate tax rates as high as 60 percent beginning in 2011 . 
permanent repeal of the estate tax will provide american families with fairness in our tax system and remove the perverse incentive that makes it is cheaper for an individual to sell the business prior to death and pay the individual capital gains rate than pass it on to heirs . 
but for minorities , it provides much more . 
it will allow wealth created in one generation to be passed on to the next thereby establishing sustainable minority communities through better jobs and education , better healthcare , and safer communities . 
mr. speaker , i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 8 to permanently repeal the federal estate tax and to restore fairness to our nation 's tax code . 
