Reply #19: In tune with Ozy's 'toon - House OKs repeal of estate tax

[UpInArms]

http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20050414/topstories/125701.shtml

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans, aided by 42 Democrats, passed legislation Wednesday to permanently repeal the federal estate tax and sent it to a Republican-run Senate where leaders are working to find enough Democratic crossover votes to avoid a filibuster and make the repeal a reality.

The bill cleared the House 272-162 vote. Washington state's lawmakers voted largely along party lines. The three Republicans -- Doc Hastings of Pasco, Dave Reichert of Bellevue and Cathy McMorris of Spokane -- voted for the bill while Democrats Brian Baird of Vancouver, Adam Smith of Tacoma, Norm Dicks of Belfair, Jay Inslee of Bainbridge Island and Jim McDermott of Seattle voted against it.

<snip>

Larsen said he had heard from small-business owners in his district who worried that their heirs would have to sell property to pay the tax bill.

"The estate tax is hitting middle-class small-business owners in the Northwest and that is having a negative impact on jobs in our communities," Larsen said.

Baird and Smith both voted in 2001 to eliminate the federal estate tax. But they said the federal government still had a budget surplus at the time that could cover the loss in tax revenue.

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I call this bullshit! "Small business"????? When your business is worth more than $5 freakin' million, it is not a "small business".

:puke: