November, 16 2010, 11:15am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Susan Roth, 301-530-3539, prsue@rothpr.com
Anne Singer, 202-271-4679, anne@annesingercommunications.
Small Business Owners Say 'Yes' to Estate Tax - Tell Opponents 'You Don't Speak For Us'
They Join United for a Fair Economy in Asking Congress and White House for Permanent Restoration of a Robust Tax on Inheritance
BOSTON
A group of small business owners and entrepreneurs today spoke out
in support of the estate tax, insisting that opponents of the tax have
misrepresented the interests of small businesses for their own agenda.
Coming from four different industries in four different states, these
business owners explained their support for a federal tax on inherited
wealth during a
conference call organized by United for a Fair Economy
(UFE) this morning. Each of the speakers has also signed UFE's "Call to
Preserve the Estate Tax." Amid reports of possible compromise on the
expiring Bush tax cuts, the fate of the federal estate tax remains
unclear as Congress decides this week on a tax package that will go to a
floor vote next month.
"I don't know any small business owners who are worried about
paying the estate tax," said Dave Eiffert, a signatory to United for a
Fair Economy's Call To Preserve the Estate Tax who co-founded the
Snoqualmie Falls Brewery outside of Seattle with a group of business
partners in 1997. "Opposition to the estate tax is largely pushed by
families who have enormous estates. They pay huge sums to spread
misinformation and use small business people as their poster children.
In my view, repealing or cutting the estate tax is just another
billionaire bailout that will line the pockets of the heirs and
heiresses of multi-millionaires and billionaires." The brewery employs
20 people and has annual sales of $1.2 million. "Like almost all small
business owners, I do not expect to owe the estate tax. Next time you
hear someone say small business owners oppose this tax, don't believe
them."
paying the estate tax," said Dave Eiffert, a signatory to United for a
Fair Economy's Call To Preserve the Estate Tax who co-founded the
Snoqualmie Falls Brewery outside of Seattle with a group of business
partners in 1997. "Opposition to the estate tax is largely pushed by
families who have enormous estates. They pay huge sums to spread
misinformation and use small business people as their poster children.
In my view, repealing or cutting the estate tax is just another
billionaire bailout that will line the pockets of the heirs and
heiresses of multi-millionaires and billionaires." The brewery employs
20 people and has annual sales of $1.2 million. "Like almost all small
business owners, I do not expect to owe the estate tax. Next time you
hear someone say small business owners oppose this tax, don't believe
them."
Of the 5,500 estates expected to pay any tax under the 2009 rules,
only about 100, or 1.8%, of those estates will have a majority of their
assets in a small business or farm, and of those 100, the vast majority
have sufficient cash to pay the tax.
only about 100, or 1.8%, of those estates will have a majority of their
assets in a small business or farm, and of those 100, the vast majority
have sufficient cash to pay the tax.
Jean Gordon co-owns Frostyaire of Arkansas, an agricultural
freezing and cold storage company bought by her parents in 1950 in
Little Rock. Gordon spoke out in favor of the estate tax, saying "At
Frostyaire, our decisions about hiring employees, purchasing equipment,
and expanding the business are not based on tax policy but on the
number of customers and the amount of product they have to store with
us. The best way to help small businesses like ours is to put more
money in the hands of the middle class who will spend the money as
customers of our businesses, rather than cutting the estate tax to
ensure that very wealthy heirs can have a larger inheritance. If
Frostyaire becomes more profitable, I would be happy to pay the tax as
my family's contribution for being part of the American economy."
Frostyaire has 45 employees and two freezer warehouses. Gordon, who has
also signed UFE's Call to Preserve the Estate Tax, expects she will
owe no estate tax under 2009 rules.
freezing and cold storage company bought by her parents in 1950 in
Little Rock. Gordon spoke out in favor of the estate tax, saying "At
Frostyaire, our decisions about hiring employees, purchasing equipment,
and expanding the business are not based on tax policy but on the
number of customers and the amount of product they have to store with
us. The best way to help small businesses like ours is to put more
money in the hands of the middle class who will spend the money as
customers of our businesses, rather than cutting the estate tax to
ensure that very wealthy heirs can have a larger inheritance. If
Frostyaire becomes more profitable, I would be happy to pay the tax as
my family's contribution for being part of the American economy."
Frostyaire has 45 employees and two freezer warehouses. Gordon, who has
also signed UFE's Call to Preserve the Estate Tax, expects she will
owe no estate tax under 2009 rules.
John Russell, a real estate developer from Portland, OR, said, "I
am one of the tiny fraction of small business owners who will owe the
estate tax, and that's fine with me. My success would not have been
possible without investments by the federal government, along with the
city and state, in redeveloping downtown Portland - particularly the
investments in light rail and streetcar systems. Federal tax incentives
like accelerated depreciation and selling tax credits to investors
helped me attract investment and lower our cost of doing business. I
see the estate tax as a way to pay some of those public investments and
tax incentives back to society - to help make success possible for the
next generation." His company, Russell Development, owns and operates
six office buildings and provides employment for about 50 people.
Russell has signed UFE's Call to Preserve the Estate Tax.
am one of the tiny fraction of small business owners who will owe the
estate tax, and that's fine with me. My success would not have been
possible without investments by the federal government, along with the
city and state, in redeveloping downtown Portland - particularly the
investments in light rail and streetcar systems. Federal tax incentives
like accelerated depreciation and selling tax credits to investors
helped me attract investment and lower our cost of doing business. I
see the estate tax as a way to pay some of those public investments and
tax incentives back to society - to help make success possible for the
next generation." His company, Russell Development, owns and operates
six office buildings and provides employment for about 50 people.
Russell has signed UFE's Call to Preserve the Estate Tax.
Russell added, "Small businesses do not pay the estate tax. Let's
be clear: the estate tax is not a small business or farm issue that has
bubbled up from the grassroots. This is an orchestrated effort funded by
some of the richest families in the country who want to get out of
paying their fair share. These wealthy individuals have used small
businesses and farms as the all-American icons to promote and front
their cause, but the facts just aren't there to back that up."
be clear: the estate tax is not a small business or farm issue that has
bubbled up from the grassroots. This is an orchestrated effort funded by
some of the richest families in the country who want to get out of
paying their fair share. These wealthy individuals have used small
businesses and farms as the all-American icons to promote and front
their cause, but the facts just aren't there to back that up."
"I'm one of the 0.25% of the population who will owe the estate
tax," said Jerry Fiddler, whose high-tech business, Wind River Systems,
employed 2,000 people at its peak, before being bought by Intel for $850
million in 2009. Fiddler, a signatory to UFE's Call to Preserve the
Estate Tax, is now a venture capitalist specializing in green technology
starts ups. "Most small businesses don't come anywhere near the $3.5
million exemption. The traditional mom and pop businesses - the grocery
store, the dry cleaner, the bakery, my dad's fabric shop - just don't
have that kind of value. And most businesses, once they're beyond a
certain size, diversify their assets so paying some estate tax does not
threaten the business. The idea that we should throw out the whole
estate tax, or raise the exemption even higher than three and a half
million, on the basis of a few edge cases, is offensive, and not the way
we should make tax policy. As a small business owner and creator, I do
not want the estate tax thrown out in my name."
tax," said Jerry Fiddler, whose high-tech business, Wind River Systems,
employed 2,000 people at its peak, before being bought by Intel for $850
million in 2009. Fiddler, a signatory to UFE's Call to Preserve the
Estate Tax, is now a venture capitalist specializing in green technology
starts ups. "Most small businesses don't come anywhere near the $3.5
million exemption. The traditional mom and pop businesses - the grocery
store, the dry cleaner, the bakery, my dad's fabric shop - just don't
have that kind of value. And most businesses, once they're beyond a
certain size, diversify their assets so paying some estate tax does not
threaten the business. The idea that we should throw out the whole
estate tax, or raise the exemption even higher than three and a half
million, on the basis of a few edge cases, is offensive, and not the way
we should make tax policy. As a small business owner and creator, I do
not want the estate tax thrown out in my name."
Given the 2009 exemption of $3.5 million per spouse, the estate tax
is paid by the wealthiest 0.25% of the population. Lee Farris, UFE's
Estate Tax Policy Coordinator noted, "Small businesses are largely
protected from the estate tax already. Multiple business-friendly
special provisions in the law mean most small businesses and farms do
not have to pay the tax. Those provisions allowed any given small
business or farm estate to pass on up to $9 million untaxed in 2009.
That's why, out of 2.4 million deaths in 2009, only about a dozen were
small business or farm estates with a lack of cash to pay the estate
tax." Farris added, "It makes no sense to set tax policy for our entire
country based on the exception rather than the rule. It's irresponsible
to shift costs onto millions of Americans by giving massive tax breaks
to thousands of wealthy heirs. That's why UFE is mobilizing our members
this week to call Congress."
is paid by the wealthiest 0.25% of the population. Lee Farris, UFE's
Estate Tax Policy Coordinator noted, "Small businesses are largely
protected from the estate tax already. Multiple business-friendly
special provisions in the law mean most small businesses and farms do
not have to pay the tax. Those provisions allowed any given small
business or farm estate to pass on up to $9 million untaxed in 2009.
That's why, out of 2.4 million deaths in 2009, only about a dozen were
small business or farm estates with a lack of cash to pay the estate
tax." Farris added, "It makes no sense to set tax policy for our entire
country based on the exception rather than the rule. It's irresponsible
to shift costs onto millions of Americans by giving massive tax breaks
to thousands of wealthy heirs. That's why UFE is mobilizing our members
this week to call Congress."
UFE as an organization supports the Harkin-Sanders-Whitehouse
Responsible Estate Tax Act, which includes a $3.5 million exemption per
spouse and a graduated rate going from 45% up to 65% on estates over
$500 million ($1 billion for couples). UFE opposes the Lincoln-Kyl
proposal with its $5 million per spouse exemption, which would cost $130
billion more over 10 years than even an extension of 2009 rates. UFE
also opposes the Feinstein proposal for an unlimited farm exemption,
which would create a loophole allowing wealthy individuals to shelter
their wealth by buying farms; this would drive up the price of farmland
and hurt small farmers in the end.
Responsible Estate Tax Act, which includes a $3.5 million exemption per
spouse and a graduated rate going from 45% up to 65% on estates over
$500 million ($1 billion for couples). UFE opposes the Lincoln-Kyl
proposal with its $5 million per spouse exemption, which would cost $130
billion more over 10 years than even an extension of 2009 rates. UFE
also opposes the Feinstein proposal for an unlimited farm exemption,
which would create a loophole allowing wealthy individuals to shelter
their wealth by buying farms; this would drive up the price of farmland
and hurt small farmers in the end.
Some 6,000 Americans have signed UFE's Call to Preserve the Estate
Tax; 2,000 signers expect to owe the estate tax themselves or come from
families that have already paid the tax. Among the signers are also more
than 600 owners of small businesses and farms, including all four small
business people on today's call.
Tax; 2,000 signers expect to owe the estate tax themselves or come from
families that have already paid the tax. Among the signers are also more
than 600 owners of small businesses and farms, including all four small
business people on today's call.
United for a Fair Economy challenges the concentration of wealth and power that corrupts democracy, deepens the racial divide and tears communities apart. We use popular economics education, trainings, and creative communications to support social movements working for a resilient, sustainable and equitable economy. United for a Fair Economy believes another world is possible. We envision a global society which respects the humanity, rights, and creativity of all people.
LATEST NEWS
'Barbaric': Whistleblowers Further Expose Israel's Torture of Detained Palestinians
"What we know about Gaza is only tip of atrocity iceberg."
May 10, 2024
Three Israeli whistleblowers who worked at the notorious Sde Teiman prison camp in the Negev desert offered horrifying accounts of the treatment of Palestinians held there, tellingCNN that the facility's doctors have amputated limbs due to handcuffing injuries, allowed detainees' wounds to rot, and carried out vicious beatings.
A medic who worked at Sde Teiman's field hospital said that Palestinian detainees there are stripped "of anything that resembles human beings" and that the harassment and torture are done not to "gather intelligence" but "out of revenge" for the October 7 attacks.
Israel has detained thousands of Gaza residents since October, with many of them held under a recently amended law that empowers Israeli authorities to imprison people indefinitely without charge or due process. Human rights organizations have documented Israeli forces' brutal and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees, including women and children.
At the field hospital, CNN reported, "wounded detainees are strapped to their beds, wearing diapers and fed through straws."
One Israeli whistleblower took a photograph of a room at the facility, which the person said was filled with a "putrid stench" and the sound of "men's murmurs" as they were "forbidden from speaking to each other."
"We were told they were not allowed to move," the whistleblower said. "They should sit upright. They're not allowed to talk. Not allowed to peek under their blindfold."
CNN finally sheds light on Israel's shocking and barbaric torture chambers: thousands of people, detained for months:
Strapped down, blindfolded, held in diapers: Israeli whistleblowers detail abuse of Palestinians in shadowy detention centerhttps://t.co/XuOL4IaFQS
— Nimer Sultany (@NimerSultany) May 10, 2024
The whistleblower accounts, according to CNN, "paint a picture of a facility where doctors sometimes amputated prisoners' limbs due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing; of medical procedures sometimes performed by underqualified medics earning it a reputation for being 'a paradise for interns'; and where the air is filled with the smell of neglected wounds left to rot."
The testimony provided to CNN is consistent with details that a doctor at the camp's field hospital included in a recent letter to top Israeli officials. The doctor described unlawful and inhumane conditions; in a single week, the person said, "two prisoners had their legs amputated due to handcuff injuries, which unfortunately is a routine event."
A report published last month by Al Mezan, a Palestinian human rights organization, also documented "harrowing accounts of torture and inhumane treatment" of people detained by the Israeli military.
"A 19-year-old detainee told an Al Mezan lawyer that he was tortured from the moment he was arrested," the group said. "He described how three of his fingernails were removed with pliers during interrogation. He also stated that investigators unleashed a dog on him and subjected him to shabeh—a form of torture which involves detainees being handcuffed and bound in stress positions for long periods—three times over three days of interrogation. He was then placed in a cell for 70 days, where he experienced starvation and extreme fatigue."
Mohammed Al-Ran, a Palestinian doctor who was arrested by Israeli forces in December, told CNN that he was "stripped down to his underwear, blindfolded and his wrists tied, then dumped in the back of a truck where... the near-naked detainees were piled on top of one another as they were shuttled to a detention camp in the middle of the desert."
Al-Ran was held by Israeli forces for 44 days. Just before his release, he told CNN, "a fellow prisoner had called out to him, his voice barely rising above a whisper."
According to CNN: "He asked the doctor to find his wife and kids in Gaza. 'He asked me to tell them that it is better for them to be martyrs,' said al-Ran. 'It is better for them to die than to be captured and held here.'"
Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch, said in response to the new reporting that "what we know about Gaza is only tip of the atrocity iceberg."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Climate Movement Cheers Michigan AG's Plans to Sue Big Oil
"Pursuing this litigation will allow us to recoup our costs and hold those responsible for jeopardizing Michigan's economic future and way of life accountable," said the state attorney general
May 09, 2024
Advocates of holding fossil fuel giants accountable for their significant contributions to the climate emergency welcomed Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's Thursday announcement that she intends to sue the polluting industry.
"Big Oil knew decades ago that their products would cause catastrophic climate change, but instead of doing the right thing they lied about it," declared Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity. "The people of Michigan deserve their day in court to make these companies pay for the massive harm they knowingly caused."
Dozens of municipalities and attorneys general for the District of Columbia and eight states—California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont—have already filed climate liability suits against Big Oil in recent years.
"Our 'Pure Michigan' identity is under threat from the effects of climate change," said Nessel, whose state was praised last year for passing clean energy legislation. "Warmer temperatures are shrinking ski seasons in the UP and disrupting the wonderful blooms of Holland's Tulip Time Festival. Severe weather events are on the rise."
"These impacts threaten not only our way of life but also our economy and pose long-term risks to Michigan's thriving agribusiness," she continued. "The fossil fuel industry, despite knowing about these consequences, prioritized profits over people and the environment. Pursuing this litigation will allow us to recoup our costs and hold those responsible for jeopardizing Michigan's economic future and way of life accountable."
The Democratic attorney general's office explained that she is "seeking proposals from attorneys and law firms to serve as special assistant attorneys general to pursue litigation related to the climate change impacts caused by the fossil fuel industry on behalf of the state of Michigan."
The Detroit Newsnoted that "Nessel took a similar tact in suing drugmakers for the opioid crisis, farming out much of the work to outside law firms in Michigan, Texas, and Florida."
According to the newspaper:
Nessel's office is working with other state departments to assess the costs associated with climate change, such as the cost of expanding storm water systems to handle flooding caused by stronger storms, responding to natural disasters, or supporting northern Michigan tourism economies dealing with dwindling ice and snow.
"This is going to be a massive discovery effort to find out exactly what our Michigan damages are now already and what can we expect to see in the future as a result of climate change," she said.
"I don't know that there's a bigger issue facing the state of Michigan than climate change," Nessel told the outlet. "We are talking about billions and billions of dollars in damages and we're already starting to see that on a day-to-day basis. We know this is only going to get worse."
The youth-led Sunrise Movement applauded Nessel's plans and asserted that U.S. President Joe Biden—who is seeking reelection in November—and the Department of Justice "must follow suit."
The group's call echoed similar demands that emerged last week in response to the U.S. Senate Budget Committee's hearing about a three-year investigation into "Big Oil's campaign of deception and distraction."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Critics Compare Biden's Proposed Asylum Rule to 'Failed Trump-Era Policies'
"The Biden administration and Congress must not erect any more unjust barriers to asylum that will sow further disorder and result in irreparable harm," said one migrant rights advocate.
May 09, 2024
Immigrant rights advocates on Thursday slammed the Biden administration's proposal to fast-track the rejection of certain migrants seeking asylum in the United States.
On Thursday the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a rule that would empower immigration officials to disqualify certain asylum-seekers during their initial eligibility screening—called the credible fear interview (CFI)—using existing national security and terrorism-related criteria, or bars.
DHS said the rule would apply to noncitizens who have "engaged in certain criminal activity, persecuted others, or have been involved in terrorist activities."
"I urge President Biden to embrace our values as a nation of immigrants and use this opportunity to instead provide relief for the long-term immigrants of this nation."
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called the proposed rule "yet another step in our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the American public by more quickly identifying and removing those individuals who present a security risk and have no legal basis to remain here."
However, Greg Chen, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, argued that while "bars are an important feature of our immigration laws to ensure that dangerous individuals are not allowed into the country," they must be "accurately applied where warranted."
"This change could make the process faster by excluding people who would not be entitled to stay," he noted. "However, due process will likely be eroded by accelerating what is a highly complex legal analysis needed for these bars and conducting them at the preliminary CFI screening."
As Chen explained:
At that early stage, few asylum seekers will have the opportunity to seek legal counsel or time to understand the consequences of a bar being applied. Under the current process, they have more time to seek legal advice, to prepare their case, and to appeal it or seek an exemption. Ultimately to establish a fair and orderly process at the border, Congress needs to provide the Department of Homeland Security with the resources to meet its mission and also ensure the truly vulnerable are not summarily denied protection without due process.
Democratic lawmakers—some of whom held a press conference Wednesday on protecting undocumented immigrants in the U.S.—also criticized the proposal.
"As the Biden administration considers executive actions on immigration, we must not return to failed Trump-era policies aimed at banning asylum and moving us backwards," said Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), referring to former Republican President Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 GOP nominee to face President Joe Biden in November.
"I urge President Biden to embrace our values as a nation of immigrants and use this opportunity to instead provide relief for the long-term immigrants of this nation," he added.
One year ago, critics accused Biden of "finishing Trump's job" by implementing a crackdown on asylum-seekers upon the expiration of Title 42—a provision first invoked during Trump administration at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and continued by Biden to expel more than 1 million migrants under the pretext of public safety.
Earlier this week, the advocacy group Human Rights First released a report detailing the harms of the policy on its anniversary. The group held a press conference to unveil the report and warn of the dangers of further anti-migrant policies.
"The interviews with hundreds of asylum-seekers make clear that the asylum ban and related restrictions strands in danger children and adults seeking asylum, punishes people for seeking protection, leads to the return of refugees to persecution, spurs irregular crossings, and denies equal access to asylum to people facing the most dire risks," Human Rights First director of research and analysis of refugee protection Christina Asencio said during the press conference.
"The Biden administration and Congress must not erect any more unjust barriers to asylum that will sow further disorder and result in irreparable harm," Asencio added.
On Wednesday, three advocacy groups—Al Otro Lado, the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, and the Texas Civil Rights Project—sued the federal government on behalf of noncitizens with disabilities seeking more information regarding CBP One, the problem-plagued Customs and Border Protection app migrants must use to schedule asylum interviews at U.S. ports of entry.
"We have and continue to see migrants with disabilities facing unlawful discrimination and unequal access to the asylum process due to the inaccessibility of the app," said Laura Murchie, an attorney with the Civil Rights and Education Enforcement Center involved in the case.
"CBP needs to release these documents so we can advocate for and ensure compliance with the law so asylum-seekers with disabilities do not continue to be harmed by CBP's disregard for rights that are guaranteed by federal disability law," she added.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular