House Republicans passed a bill this week designed to repeal the estate tax, a measure with the specific intent of helping the wealthy, reported MSNBC.
In a final vote of 240 to 179, House Republicans successfully passed the “Death Tax Repeal Act,” which will now go to the Senate. The voting stayed largely within party lines. According to The Hill:
The House voted Thursday to repeal the estate tax, a longtime priority of Republicans that also spurred Democratic charges that the GOP is in the pockets of the rich. […]
The White House has threatened to veto the measure, and the bill does not appear to have the 60 votes necessary to break a Democratic filibuster and get through the Senate.
If the “Death Tax Repeal Act” became law, it would create a $269 billion tax break for the nation’s top 0.2 percent of earners. Republicans plan to “add the entire $269 billion cost to the deficit, leaving future generations to pay for a massive tax break for the hyper-wealthy.”
Republican leaders defend the bill, saying it’s “unfair” to tax someone when they die. However, they overlook, or completely ignore, the fact that only two out of every 1,000 households pay the estate tax. And those two houses are owned by absurdly-wealthy people.
“The [estate] tax’s repeal is long overdue,” said House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). “Remember, all of this money that families have saved has all been taxed, much of it multiple times. And then if you die, we’re going to tax you again. I think it’s totally unfair.”
That’s a total crock. This repeal isn’t about fairness. It’s all about helping the wealthy become wealthier while shifting more of the tax burden onto the poor and shrinking middle-class.
