Press Releases

Today, Congressman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) introduced H.R. 5652 – legislation that will provide much-needed relief to family-owned businesses by cutting the estate tax rate in half. Currently, the estate tax – commonly known as the ‘Death Tax’ – is the highest tax rate in the U.S. Tax Code at 40 percent. This legislation, if passed, would simplify and reduce the rate to 20 percent across the board, thus reducing the tax burden on family-owned businesses and allowing business owners to invest more of their hard-earned money in expanding their operations and creating jobs. “The Tax Code should not penalize Americans who work their entire lives, build successful businesses, and seek to pass along their success to their sons and daughters,” said Arrington.  “The Death Tax forces people to sell their family-owned businesses after a lifetime of building their legacy brick-by-brick. It is unfair and un-American to continue to impose a tax on families after they have lost a loved one, and I am proud to introduce legislation to cut this punishing and unnecessary financial burden.” To read the full text of H.R. 5652, click here. Background:

• The United States currently has the 4^thhighest estate and inheritance tax among developed countries, just behind France.
• Much of the value in family-owned businesses are in hard assets and must be sold when the owner passes away, thus endangering the ability of a family business to survive between generations.
• Only 30% of family-owned businesses survive the transition from first to second-generation ownership, while only 12% survive from second to third-generation ownership.
• Just 13% of family businesses remain in the family for more than 60 years.
• Family-owned businessesemploy 60% of the U.S. workforce and create 78% of all new jobs.
• R. 5652 would cut the rate for tax on estates, gifts, and generation-skipping transfers from 40 percent to 20 percent.
• Congressman Arrington has co-sponsored other legislation to reduce and eliminate the Estate Tax, including the Preserving Family Farms Act and Death Tax Repeal Act.