Representative Jackie Walorski voted to repeal the estate tax during a House roll call on Wednesday.
As we reported yesterday, the estate tax repeal vote occurred on Tax Day when millions of Americans filed their income taxes.
The estate tax is a tax on the estate of deceased taxpayers. An estate would need to be valued at $10.9 million for a married couple or $5.43 million for a single person to be levied the tax. Only the wealthiest 0.2 percent of taxpayers are impacted.
Any portion of the estate over the exemption amount is subject to a 40 percent tax — but due to other exemptions and loopholes, the effective tax rate is only 9.9 percent. The highest average rate — just 13.4 percent — is for those with estates over $20 million.
Repeal of the estate tax would have sizable fiscal consequences, costing the federal government an estimated $269 billion over ten years. All of that would be added to the federal deficit since the bill does not include any offsets.
Walorski, who announced this week that she would be seeking a third term, framed the issue as supporting “small businesses”.
“For too long, the death tax has undermined small businesses and the life savings of farmers across Indiana and has become the number one reason why family-owned businesses aren’t passed down to the next generation,” Walorski said in a statement.
“Instead of stifling the hardworking, middle class Americans who are the backbone of our economy, Hoosier businesses and farmers deserve the chance to thrive,” she added.
Other area members of Congress, including Republicans Fred Upton and Marlin Stutzman, voted for repeal. The vote in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives was 240-179 with only three Republicans voting against repeal.
