U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

Thursday , March 13, 2008

CONTACT:Stephanie Valencia – 202-494-8790
Cody Wertz – 303-350-0032

Sen. Salazar Will Continue to Work Towards Meaningful, Permanent Estate Tax Reform

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the United States Senate failed to adopt Senator Salazar’s amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution to create a deficit-neutral reserve fund dedicated to estate tax relief for family farmers and ranchers and small business owners. This reserve fund would have provided sufficient funds to accommodate a range of different reform options, including a proposal to raise the estate tax exemption to $5 million (indexed for inflation) and lower the tax rate to 35 percent. The amendment would have given Congress sufficient flexibility to continue to examine how to move forward with permanent, comprehensive, and fiscally responsible estate tax reform.

“There is no question that the estate tax needs to be reformed on a permanent basis. The way the law works now wreaks havoc on those trying to plan their family’s future. My amendment would have helped to pave the way for permanent, comprehensive, and fiscally responsible estate tax reform, and I am disappointed that it did not pass today.

“There are many options available to us as we consider estate tax reform and we should continue to work our way through the process to identify the most appropriate way to move forward on a bipartisan basis. I remain committed to working with my colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee and in the full Senate to find a pathway to permanent estate tax reform that will provide important relief to our family farmers, ranchers and small businesses.”

Yesterday, Senator Salazar attended a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on estate tax reform. It was the second estate tax hearing the Finance Committee has held on the issue and a third hearing is expected in early April.

Senator Salazar has long been working to provide estate tax relief to family farmers and ranchers and small businesses. Last year, Senator Salazar and Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) introduced the Family Farm and Ranch Act of 2007, which grants an estate tax exemption for family farms and ranches that stay in the family and continue operations after the original estate-holder passes away.

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