[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5706 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5706
To repeal the Federal estate and gift taxes and the tax on generation-
skipping transfers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 8, 2002
Mr. Cox introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To repeal the Federal estate and gift taxes and the tax on generation-
skipping transfers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Family Heritage Preservation Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that:
(1) Hard working American men and women spend a lifetime
saving to provide for their children and grandchildren, paying
taxes all the while. Throughout their lives, they pay taxes on
the income and gains from their labor and their investment.
Because of the heavy burden of income taxes, property taxes,
and other levies, it is enormously difficult to accumulate
savings for a family's future. Worst of all, when the purpose
of that hard earned saving is about to be achieved, families
discover that between 37 percent and 55 percent of their after-
tax savings is confiscated by Federal estate taxes.
(2) These transfer, estate, and gift taxes punish lifelong
habits of thrift; they discourage entrepreneurship; they
penalize families; and they have a negative effect on other tax
revenue sources.
(3) These taxes raise almost no material revenue for the
Federal Government. In fiscal year 1998, they produced about 1
percent of total Federal revenues.
(4) The waste and economic inefficiency caused by estate
taxes is well known. American families employ legions of tax
accountants and lawyers each year to set up trusts and other
prolix devices designed to avoid these onerous levies. The
make-work imposed upon the economy comprises billions of
dollars.
(5) In order to pay these excessive taxes, many small
businesses must liquidate all or part of their assets. By
causing business closures, these taxes constrict business
activity, increase unemployment, and reduce tax revenues to the
Federal Government.
(6) Independent analyses indicate that, were these onerous
taxes repealed, the Nation's gross domestic product, Federal
and State tax revenues, employment base, and capital formation
would increase substantially. According to a December 1998
study by the Joint Economic Committee, these taxes have reduced
the stock of capital in the United States by $497,000,000,000,
reduce annual Federal income tax receipts by $20,000,000,000,
and cause family businesses to divert resources from investment
and to develop environmentally sensitive land.
(7) Repealing these taxes will ensure economic fairness for
all American families and businesses, as well as economic
growth and prosperity for the Nation as a whole.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF FEDERAL TRANSFER TAXES.
(a) General Rule.--Subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
(relating to estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes) is hereby
repealed.
(b) Effective Date.--The repeal made by subsection (a) shall apply
to the estates of decedents dying, and gifts and generation-skipping
transfers made, after December 31, 2002.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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