Senator Lamar Alexander on Tuesday, cosponsored legislation by Senator John Thune to permanently repeal the federal death tax saying it would “reduce Washington’s involvement in our everyday lives” and demonstrate “Tennessee common sense.”
“Nobody should be put into the position of having to sell the family farm or small business they’ve just inherited in order to pay the IRS a tax that’s only owed because someone passed away,” Senator Alexander said. “I want to reduce Washington’s involvement in our everyday lives – and eliminating the federal estate tax would help relieve the tax burden on family-owned farms and businesses. Tennessee – which benefits from being a low-tax state – repealed its inheritance tax in 2012, and it is time to transfer some of that common sense to Washington.”
Senator Alexander – along with 25 senators – cosponsored Senator Thune’s Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017. The legislation would permanently repeal the federal death tax. The death tax is a tax on certain estates that the federal government collects after a property or business owner dies.
The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill on April 27, 2012, that eliminated Tennessee’s inheritance tax after 2015.
Senator Alexander cosponsored similar legislation in the 114th Congress and voted for an amendment to the fiscal year 2016 budget resolution to repeal the federal estate tax.