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BOCA GRANDE, Fla. — The Marine Retailers Association of American has joined with other small business organizations to ask Congress to support H.R. 1259, the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2011, introduced by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas).
The bill has 34 co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means, which is responsible for writing all tax laws. No action has yet been taken by the committee.
“MRAA has worked for many years to increase the exemption and decrease the tax rate for estate taxes,” the group said in a release.
It now stands at a $5,000,000 exemption with a 35 percent maximum tax rate until 2012, when the top tax rate will increase to 55 percent with a $1,000,000 exemption. H.R. 1259 is a simple bill that would repeal all federal estate taxes on estates of decedents dying after Dec. 31, 2009.
“The death tax applies to property transferred at death when the value of the property exceeds the estate tax exemption,” the group said in its release. “Much of the value of family-owned businesses is tied to illiquid assets such as land, buildings, and equipment, which can force the new owner to sell the business assets to pay the tax.
“Protecting marine dealers, marina operators and boat yards for the estate tax is important in order to keep these businesses operating for future generations. For many family-owned businesses to keep operating after the death of the owner, they must plan for the estate tax. Planning costs associated with the estate tax are a drain on business resources taking money away from day to day operations and making it more difficult for the business owner to expand and create new jobs.”
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