Death Tax Survives

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By Jason A. Fortin
It appears, for at least the time being, the Death Tax has survived until the next Congress. Last week, a Senate attempt to completely repeal the Death Tax was scuttled by a Democrat-led filibuster. Even with the U.S. Death Tax rate ranking in the top three internationally–actually higher than our Franco allies–there are still members of Congress eager to keep the confiscatory tax.


Maine’s two Senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, should be applauded for their support of the complete Death Tax repeal.
Repeal proponents were able to muster 57 votes. However, that number fell three shy of 60 required to end the filibuster. The filibuster, a parliamentary maneuver that gained national attention during the judicial nominee debate, still appears to be the weapon of choice of obstructionists in the U.S. Senate. Such obstructionist parliamentary maneuvering has proven unpopular with voters, as Tom Daschle can attest to, and we will have to wait until November to see if there are similar consequences for last week’s actions.
While last week was a blow to those proponents of a complete repeal, there are some positive aspects that can be taken from last week’s debate.
First and foremost, it appears that the repeal proponents will get a “half loaf.