NAM Supports Permanent 35 Percent Estate Tax

September 30, 2009

Bloomberg News reports, "Forty-six business groups, including the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, want Congress to impose a permanent 35 percent tax on estates worth more than $10 million." With the estate tax "currently set to expire for a year in 2010, the groups, which also include trade organizations such as the American Farm Bureau Federation and the NAM, are seeking to avoid different sets of rules for this year, next year and 2011." The groups said in a letter to lawmakers, "Family businesses cannot afford mixed messages from Congress on this critical issue. ... A mere one-year extension of existing law will only add to the planning burdens on businesses that are already facing difficult economic times." The business groups' "call for a permanent estate tax marks a break from anti-tax groups such as Americans for Tax Reform that continue to push for repeal and argue that small businesses will be hurt by the levy."