Jan 25, 2017

ARLINGTON, VA – January 25, 2017– Food Marketing Institute (FMI) issued the following statement in support of legislation, Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017, introduced by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) that would repeal the death tax once and for all.

 

”The death tax represents the most pernicious form of double taxation in the U.S. tax code – one that hits survivors again in their time of grief. It threatens the very existence of many family-owned grocers.” said Jennifer Hatcher, chief public policy officer & senior vice president of government relations. “The death tax forces business owners to spend any profits they make on hiring lawyers to design a plan to keep the business running in the event of their untimely death, rather than expanding their businesses and creating new jobs. FMI fully supports the legislation introduced and looks forward to working with Congress to see that it is passed.”

“Sen. Thune and Rep. Noem are strong advocates for keeping family-owned supermarkets in business and creating more jobs,” Hatcher said. We want to thank them for their leadership on this issue.”

The death tax poses a unique threat to America’s family-owned businesses. Although designed to impact only the very wealthy, it has just as frequently been applied to the kind of small and medium-sized businesses that are at the core of the U.S. economy. Long considered the most confiscatory tax imposed by the U.S. government, the rate has risen in the past to as high as 55 percent, and it is imposed following an owner’s death, at a time when businesses are most in need of all available resources.