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House Passes 'Anti-Death Tax' Resolution
HJR 35 Calls on U.S. Congress to Abandon Inheritance Tax

(JUNEAU) - The House of Representatives passed House Joint Resolution 35 on Friday, calling on the U.S. Congress to repeal an excessive and unfair inheritance tax dubbed the "death tax."

Rep. Jeannette James (R-North Pole) said she introduced the measure as a way to protect Americans against a tax that represents an unfair burden on small family estates, especially family farms.

"I've been involved in the tax business for a long time, and I've seen how this tax disadvantages the inheritors of smaller estates," James said during floor debate on the resolution. "This is an issue I've wanted to address for 25 years."

The tax, formally known as the Estate and Generation-skipping Transfer tax, was temporarily repealed by Congress in 2001 and signed into law by President George W. Bush in June 2001. The resolution asks Congress to make that repeal permanent.

Exhaustive economic research has shown the tax to be harmful to the nation's economy. In addition those same studies have shown that the tax costs more to collect than it generates in revenue. In 2002, it cost the Internal Revenue Service an estimated $36 billion to collect, but generated little more than $27 billion.

"I believe that eliminating this tax will benefit the nation as a whole," James said. "The people whose estates are subject to these taxes, both large and small estates alike, are the individuals who re-invest their assets back into their businesses that create jobs. They also establish and contribute to charitable foundations and, in general, spur greater economic development."

HJR 35 passed 24-10, with six representatives absent. The resolution moves next to the Senate.

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