In a compromise to get the Energy Bill passed, Senate Democratic leaders agreed to allow a vote on the permanent repeal of the estate tax before June 28, 2002. The vote could happen at any time. Your immediate action is needed.
What you can do TODAY to save the estate tax:
1) Call your U.S. Senators and urge them to vote against permanent repeal of the estate tax. Permanently repealing the estate tax is fiscally irresponsible and will worsen state budget deficits and harm charitable giving (additional talking points below). Be sure to tell them if you are someone whose family has paid, or will pay, the estate tax. The number for the Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121. Note: Mail delivery to Congress is still unreliable; calls and faxes are best.
2) Forward this email to friends and associates in key swing states and urge them to immediately contact the following Senators who will be key to this vote: Arizona (McCain); California (Feinstein), Florida (Nelson), Louisiana (Breaux & Landrieu), Maine (Collins & Snowe), Missouri (Carnahan), New Jersey (Torricelli), Ohio (Voinovich), Oregon (Wyden), Pennsylvania (Specter), Vermont (Jeffords), Washington (Cantwell & Murray).
3) Enlist the support of state elected officials. State-level estate taxes are commonly linked to the federal estate tax. Repealing the estate tax means billions of dollars of lost state revenue at a time when most states are already experiencing severe budget pressure. Contact your state legislators and governor and ask them to contact your US Senators urging a vote against permanent estate tax repeal.
4) Add your financial support. Responsible Wealth has ramped up our near-term effort to stave off the current repeal effort. We are especially in need of non tax-deductible support for our 501(c4) lobbying arm to pay for ads in targeted state media. We are also laying the groundwork for a 5-year campaign to responsibly reform the estate tax, rather than completely repeal this important law. This longer-term effort includes professional support in polling, message development and targeted advertising. To donate, visit our secure website at: https://ufenet.safeserver.com/join/pledge-rw.html, or call Pam Rogers at 617-423-2148, x27.
Background
The $1.35 trillion Bush tax cut of 2001 included the gradual phase-out of the estate tax. Under that bill, the estate tax exemption rises and the top estate tax rate decreases steadily through 2010. The estate tax would then be repealed in 2011 for one year before returning to the estate tax law as it existed before last year's tax cuts ($675,000 exemption and 55% top marginal rate).
Last year's mammoth tax cuts have plunged the US back into government deficits for the foreseeable future and served to reinvigorate the efforts of those in Congress who want to cut vital services.
Permanent repeal of the estate tax has been one of the top goals of Congressional conservatives. A network of America's wealthiest families, led by the Gallo wine family and the Mars candy family along with a coalition of newspaper publishers have spent tens of millions of dollars over the last ten years with one purpose in mind: pushing Congress to get rid of the estate tax.
Last year, Responsible Wealth organized 1,000 wealthy Americans, all of whom would be subject to the estate tax, to speak out in favor of preserving it. This group led by Bill Gates, Sr., George Soros, Agnes Gund and several members of the Rockefeller family, changed the tenor of the estate tax debate and prevented permanent repeal in last year's tax bill.
Talking Points
1. The phase-out as currently structured will cost the Treasury $266 billion over ten years. The proposed permanent repeal would cost more than $800 billion over the ten years 2011-2020.
2. Thirty-eight states have state-level estate taxes linked to the federal estate taxes. The federal estate tax generates $6.5 billion of state revenue, a loss that would be particularly burdensome given that 40 states are presently facing serious budget shortfalls. Dramatic cuts in state human services are proposed to pay for a tax cuts that benefits only the nation's wealthiest 2%.
3. The estate tax is America's most progressive tax. During these times of exploding federal deficits and ongoing national emergency, the rich should come forth and shoulder their fair share of the burden as they have at other similar moments in our country's history.
4. What will be our legacy to the next generation? While the legacy to 1.4% of Americans might be unlimited personal inheritance, the other 98% of our children will inherit even greater amounts of national debt and a society polarized by an even greater divide between the haves and have-nots.
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