MPA Urges Senators to Vote Against Estate Tax Repeal

West End News
June 9, 2006
By ED KING

Maine People's Alliance delivers "Silver Spoons" to Senators Snowe and Collins, asking them to vote "No" on repeal or reduction.

PORTLAND — The Maine People's Alliance held a press conference outside Senator Olympia Snowe's Portland office on June 6th to release the new USAction/Emergency Campaign for America's Priorities Report, entitled "Protecting Maine's Priorities: The Hidden Costs of Repeal or Drastic Reduction of the Federal Estate Tax".

The report reveals the cost that estate tax repeal or reduction would have on Maine, and how very few Maine people actually benefit, according to MPA.  The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the estate tax issue in early June. (The House of Representatives passed a bill to repeal the tax in April of 2005.)  

The MPA said that the drastic reduction or repeal of the estate tax, would only benefit multimillionaires.  Under current law, the estate tax only taxes multimillionaires. Currently, those with estates worth less than $2 million - $4 million for couples - are exempt from the estate tax.

In 2003, the most recent year for which IRS figures are available, only 133 Mainers - 1.1 percent of deaths that year - paid any estate tax.

Those gathered at Snowe's office delivered over-sized "silver spoons" to the offices of Senators Snowe and Collins to remind them that estate tax repeal or reduction would benefit the privileged few at the expense of the vast majority of Maine's families.

MPA says that those in favor of repealing the estate tax represent only the countries wealthiest families.  According to MPA, it recently came to light that 18 wealthy families, including the Waltons of WalMart fame, had spent millions of dollars on a lobbying effort to repeal the estate tax, because those families stand to save $71 billion if the tax is repealed.

Fair Use Notice: This website may reproduce or have links to copyrighted material the use of which has not been expressly authorized by the copyright owner. MPA makes such material available, without profit, as part of our efforts to advance public understanding of the social issues we work to address. It is our understanding that this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided by law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Maine People’s Alliance—Organizing for a Better Maine!

565 Congress St., Suite 200, Portland, Maine 04101; (207) 797-0967; mpa@mainepeoplesalliance.org
27 State Street, Suite 44, Bangor, Maine 04401; (207) 990-0672; jesse@mainepeoples alliance.org
145 Lisbon Street, Suite 200, Lewiston, Maine 04240; (207) 782-7876; kate@mainepeoplesalliance.org