Urgent Legislative Alert: Estate (Death) Tax
Words: Sen. Johnson, Sen. Stabenow, Senator Frist, Sen. Snowe, Sen. Lincoln, Sen. Pryor, Sen. Salazar, Sen. Akaka, Sen. Inouye, Sen. Landrieu, Sen. Baucus, Sen. Wyden, Sen. Cantwell, Sen. Murray, Sen. ByrdIn a recent turn of events, Congress has decided, once again to attempt passage of a reduction in Estate Taxes. As you may know several attempts have been made by the United States Senate to pass permanent repeal of the Estate Tax also known as the Death Tax. A compromise was put forth late last week in the House of Representatives that many are confident the Senate will pass. In addition, this compromise is attached to the Minimum Wage bill, which many Democrats are in favor of. Therefore insuring that some Senators will vote in Favor of the Estate Tax legislation, which otherwise would have voted against any type of compromise. While this is not permanent repeal, we are encouraged by this recent turn of events. The compromise bill will reduce the burden that might be placed on Small and Family owned businesses because of Estate Taxes. As you may know Congress has tried multiple times in the past 2 years to pass Permanent Repeal of the Estate Tax, with no success, each time the legislation was
defeated in the Senate.
It was unclear until late last evening whether Senate Majority Leader Frist would in fact bring the Estate tax compromise to the floor for a vote along with the minimum wage bill, due to the uncertainty of the 60 votes needed for passage. However, late yesterday Senator Frist filed for cloture, meaning that the bill will come to a vote tomorrow, Friday morning. This is a critical vote for Mason Contractors and Small Business Owners all over the country. The Estate Tax is gradually being phased out over a 10 year period as part of the Presidents tax cut package the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. However, although the tax will be completely repealed in 2010, it will come back to life again in 2011 at a maximum rate of 55 percent, if the Senate does not pass this legislation. This will again place an incredible strain on small and family business owners who plan to pass the business along to their children or grandchildren. In addition to this fact, the "death tax" places a
significant burden on employees, customers and suppliers.
I have included a list of Senators who are key for the vote below. I encourage all of you to place calls to not only these Senators but those in your state and encourage them to vote in FAVOR of this reasonable compromise legislation:
Senate Switchboard
You can be connected to your Senators office from here
202-224-3121
Arkansas
Sen. Lincoln
Little Rock Office
912 West Fourth Street
501-375-2993
501-375-7064 (F)
202-224-4843 (DC)
Sen. Pryor
Little Rock Office
500 President Clinton Blvd. Suite 401
501-324-6336
501-324-5320 (F)
202-224-2353 (DC)
Colorado
Sen. Salazar
Denver Office
2300 15 Street Suite 450
303-455-7600
303-455-8851 (F)
202-224-5852 (DC)
Hawaii
Sen. Akaka
Honolulu Office
Prince Kuhio Federal Building, Suite 3-106
808-522-8970
808-545-4683 (F)
202-224-6361 (DC)
Sen. Inouye
Honolulu Office
Prince Kuhio Federal Building, 300 Ala Moana Blvd, suite 7-212
808-935-0844
808-961-5163
202-224-3934 (DC)
Louisiana
Sen. Landrieu
Baton Rouge Office
707 Florida Street Suite 326
225-389-0395
225-389-0660 (F)
202-224-5824 (DC)
Maine
Sen. Snowe
Bangor Office
One Cumberland Place, Suite 306
207-945-0432
207-941-9525 (F)
202-224-5344 (DC)
Michigan
Sen. Stabenow
East Lansing Office
221 West Lake Lansing Road, Suite 100
517-203-1760
517-203-1778 (F)
202-224-4822 (DC)
Montana
Sen. Baucus
Billings Office
222 North 32nd Street, Suite 100
406-657-6790
406-657-6793 (F)
202-224-2651 (DC)
Oregon
Sen. Wyden
Portland Office
700 NE Multnomah Street, Suite 450
503-326-7525
503-326-7528 (F)
202-224-5244 (DC)
South Dakota
Sen. Johnson
Sioux Falls Office
715 South Minnesota Avenue
605-332-8896
605-332-2824 (F)
202-224-5842 (DC)
Washington
Sen. Cantwell
Seattle Office
915 Second Avenue, Suite 3206
206-220-6400
206-220-6404 (F)
202-224-3441 (DC)
Sen. Murray
Seattle Office
915 Second Avenue, Room 2988
206-553-5545
206-553-0891 (F)
202-224-2621 (DC)
West Virginia
Sen. Byrd
Charleston Office
300 Virginia Street East, Suite 2630
304-342-5855
304-343-7144 (F)
202-224-3954 (DC)
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. I appreciate your support on this very important issue!