Congressman Andy Barr (KY-6) voted in favor of H.R. 1105, the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015. The death tax was imposed in 1916 as a “temporary” measure to help finance World War I. Nearly a century later, this confiscatory tax threatens family-run businesses and family farms.
“Death and taxes may be certainties of life, but I don’t believe the federal government should continue to tax people after they have passed away,” said Congressman Barr. “The death tax threatens many family-owned Kentucky farms and small businesses, and I’m proud to vote for its repeal.”
A 2012 Joint Economic Committee report called the death tax “an overwhelming cause of the dissolution of family businesses.” The death tax hurts family businesses and farms the most because they often do not have the liquid assets, or cash, to meet the sudden tax liability brought on by the death of a loved one. Often the only option is to sell or break up the family business or farm to pay the Internal Revenue Service.
Congressman Barr was recently given the 60 Plus Association’s Benjamin Franklin Award for his work to repeal the death tax.