HM 885

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States urging the
3	immediate and permanent repeal of the death tax.
4
5	WHEREAS, under federal tax relief legislation passed in
6	2001, the death tax was temporarily phased out but not
7	permanently eliminated, and
8	WHEREAS, farmers and other small business owners face
9	losing their farms and businesses if the Federal Government
10	resumes the heavy taxation of citizens at death, and
11	WHEREAS, the death tax is particularly damaging to families
12	who are trying to accumulate wealth for the first time, and
13	WHEREAS, employees suffer layoffs when small and medium-
14	sized businesses are liquidated to pay death taxes, and
15	WHEREAS, if the death tax had been repealed in 1996, the
16	United States economy would have realized billions of dollars
17	each year in extra output, and an average of 145,000 new jobs
18	would have been created, and
19	WHEREAS, the United States Congress has repeatedly passed
20	legislation repealing the death tax, which shows widespread,
21	bipartisan support for such a repeal, NOW, THEREFORE,
22
23	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25	That the United States Congress is requested to immediately
26	and permanently repeal the death tax.
27	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
28	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
29	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
30	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
31	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.