If the summer’s often heated political exchange on the big issues of the day taught us anything, there is a lot to a label, and once a label is fixed it is hard to change public perception. Think, “Death Panels,” or “Swine Flu.”This has long been the story behind efforts to repeal the Estate Tax as proponents of a full repeal of the tax have insisted on calling the tax the “Death Tax” though no such label actually appears in the thousands of pages that make up the American tax code. The Oklahoma Farm Report writes that “Late last week, a coalition of business groups – including the American Farm Bureau Federation, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) – told members of Congress they would support a 35 percent estate tax rate with a five million dollar exemption, an alleged compromise, needed, they said, to provide “permanency and certainty” for small businesses and farms.”
This concession by these politically powerful organization greatly improves the chance that a compromise on the estate tax could be reached. However, other organizations are upset at the Farm Bureau for reaching for a compromise.
Dick Patten, president of the American Family Business Institute (AFBI) stated in the Oklahoma Farm report story that, “business groups already are running for the barricades, before the fight begins, seeking compromise instead of victory. We don’t consider a 35 percent tax rate an acceptable compromise. What it is, is highway robbery. What it is, is a formula for destroying family businesses, slowing economic growth, discouraging job creation. What it is, is a continuing threat to the future of millions of family businesses and family farms, the backbone of our economy and the heart and soul of many rural communities across America. ”
AFBI has a reason to be worried about the decisions of the business organizations as they carry much more power on Capitol Hill than the AFBI. The proof is in the campaign endorsements and contributions, along with the number of “blast faxes” the organizations send Members of Congress on any vote that affects their constituencies and how those members end up voting after receiving the faxes.
The decision of the coalition does, indeed, leave the door open for compromise legislation to pass before the estate tax reverts back to its previous rate of 55 percent. Still Patten thinks the 35 percent agreement should be the starting point in negotiations and not the end goal. Of course, until there is a repeal or certainty given to the estate tax or “Death Tax,” it will loom as a tricky political issue that needs resolving.
To read the Oklahoma Farm Report story click here.
Posted: 10/13/09
