Chamber Urges Congress to Override Clinton Veto

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States Chamber of Commerce today urged Congress to override Clinton's veto of the Death Tax Elimination Act of 2000, which phases out federal estate taxes over the next ten years and also repeals the federal gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes.

"The long arm of the IRS should not reach beyond the grave," said Thomas Donohue, Chamber President and CEO. "The public is overwhelmingly opposed to this tax because they recognize the fundamental unfairness of an additional 55 percent death tax on the previously taxed assets of business owners and farms."

Full repeal of the death tax would mean only a small revenue loss to the federal government, according to the Chamber, but repeal would preserve the livelihood of many small business owners, protect the jobs of their workers and serve the interests of the local community. Furthermore, the tax is costly to collect and has spawned a whole industry to avoid paying it. "Death should not be a taxable event," said Donohue. "American families that have worked hard for generations to build up a business or farm should not be forced to sell in order to pay a death tax."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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