NFIB Praises Senator Nickles for Death Tax Repeal Effort

Published May 1, 2004

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) on March 8 praised U.S. Senator Don Nickles (R-Oklahoma) for including in the Senate’s 2005 budget a provision that would accelerate by one year complete repeal of the federal estate tax. Nickles’ budget provides for elimination of the tax in 2009.

“Death-tax repeal is a big deal to NFIB’s 600,000 Main-Street-owner members and this provision is one more shoeful of dirt in the effort to bury it for good,” said Jack Faris, president and CEO of NFIB. “Eliminating the death tax in 2009 will give small-business owners two full years of freedom from this burdensome and unfair tax,” Faris continued. “NFIB appreciates Sen. Nickles’ continued efforts in this fight.”

NFIB–with 600,000 members, the nation’s largest small business advocacy group–is alerting senators it will consider any attempt to strike or water down the death tax repeal acceleration to be a “key vote” against its members’ interests.

“This vote presents some senators and groups with the opportunity to do some real mischief. NFIB wants to make sure it’s clear: Giving small-business owners one more year of a more fair tax code is a step in the right direction to full repeal. Our goal continues to be the permanent repeal of a tax that unfairly levies a double tax on America’s small-business owners, but in the meantime we certainly support this big step forward,” Faris said.

Although the 2001 tax package repeals the death tax in 2010, it will rise from the dead–back to 2001 levels–the following year, unless Congress approves legislation making the repeal permanent.

“People who want the death tax to come back from the dead just love to engage in a lot of class warfare,” Faris concluded. “But the fact is that billionaires with names like Gates just set up tax-free foundations to shelter their money from this and other taxes. The people left holding the bag are the ones who get laid off when a small business is sold to deal with the death tax.”


John Skorburg is managing editor of Budget & Tax News. His email address is [email protected].