Daines Introduces Bill to Protect Montanans from Immoral Death Tax

U.S. Senator Steve Daines joined Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and 44 colleagues in reintroducing the “Death Tax Repeal Act.” The bill would permanently repeal the federal estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax for individuals, while retaining a reformed gift tax with updated rates and a larger lifetime exemption. According to Daines, this removes a punitive levy that threatens Montana farms, ranches, and businesses.

“When Montanans lose a loved one, the last thing they need to worry about is what will happen to their family farm or ranch,” said Daines. “I’m glad to join this effort to protect Montanans from this unfair and unnecessary tax.”

The bill is supported by more than 190 members of the Family Business Coalition and over 105 members of the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition, which includes the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Restaurant Association, the National Association of Home Builders, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The Family Business Coalition said in a February 13 letter to Thune, “We appreciate your work to lead the country towards a commonsense tax code that does not impose a destructive double or triple tax at death. We support full and permanent repeal of the federal estate tax.” Notable letter signatories spanning industries such as construction, manufacturing, food, and agriculture include the National Association of Home Builders, The Association for Manufacturing Technology, National Grocers Association, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

In December of 2017, Daines voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which returned over $700 million to Montana families and doubled the exemption from the estate tax to $10 million for individuals and $20 million for families.

Daines is now working to make the provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. Last week, he sent a letter to President Trump vowing to oppose any short-term tax bill.