On 31 Oct 2002 at 15:47, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> I would consider small business owners "common people." And it sounds > like, in that particular instance, the repeal of the tax actually had > some direct applicability. Well, I consider them "common people" as well but I was using the term in the context in which you used it - people who would never have to pay the estate tax. > > Beyond that, however, I do think that once the term "death tax" got > out into common usage, it took on a life of its own, with many > thinking it applied to people with far fewer assets than small > business owners. > If anyone thought that, all they had to do was read what the estate tax is. After all it's not like this was a ballot measure that was going to be decided by voters and there was some campaign to deceive people so they would vote a particular way. > > P.S. Brenda, why were African-American business groups in particular > involved in this effort? I hadn't heard that, and would like to know > more. E-mail me privately, if you like. > Because there are many African-American businesses that get passed from generation to generation and the generation that is elderly right now is the first with significant numbers that can actually leave behind enough to have a capital impact. Also the number of minority businesses has grown by more than 150% in the last decade and revenue from minority businesses has grown by more than 325%. (I'm not trying to speak for the whole "community," but I think a lot of people see business ownership - no matter how small - as the only way to improve their living condition with any measure of control - particularly since blacks are still paid less and there's that small business of the glass ceiling. It's certainly why I went out on my own.) There are estimates that nearly 1 million black owned businesses will have to pay that 37-55%. Many of these businesses serve black communities and because the tax has to be paid in cash on assets and access to cash in the capital markets is limited for black business owners, it's expected that a significant number will sell their assets to pay the tax and go out of business. The Chicago Daily Defender, one of the oldest black daily newspapers in the country, went into bankruptcy because of the burden imposed by the estate tax. I'm surprised that you haven't heard about it because I remember seeing press coverage highlighting support from the Congressional Black Caucus and the National Black Chamber of Commerce among others. There were seven members of the CBC who co-sponsored the repeal bill and they did a number of press conferences to promote their support. It even turned up in an episode of "The West Wing" .... I wonder how much that show is influencing public views on policy, particularly when they grab so many stories from the headlines. B
