“Death Tax” Dies in the VA House!
This week we informed you of another potential intrusion of big government into our lives – even after death – with a proposal by Delegate Vivian Watts (D-39, Fairfax) to reinstate the dreaded “Death Tax” (HB 736) which ended in Virginia when a bipartisan effort, including then-Governor Tim Kaine, passed and signed its repeal into law. The Family Foundation was proud more than 10 years ago to be a key player in the coalition of business, agriculture and family organizations to end the idea of taxing a lifetime’s worth of hard earned family assets more than once that frequently strapped heirs with a burden that forces them to sell land, businesses and other assets to pay the tax.
On Friday, in a House Finance Subcommittee, The Family Foundation partnered with other groups to prevent the resurrection of the death tax. Although Delegate Watts’ bill, which she has introduced for years, would have established a $10 million threshold it still contained undefined terms and other policy concerns that would have significantly impacted businesses and large farms.
On principle, income should not be taxed twice, and despite the high threshold limiting its impact to only a few families it would open the door to its inevitable lowering in future years until its impact is felt by a larger percentage of families in the same way it did before the repeal. After several opponents made their case, Delegate Watts agreed to carry the bill over for the year to work with stakeholders, specifically citing The Family Foundation!
This victory is not insignificant and it shocked subcommittee members of both parties. At first, subcommittee Chairman Rip Sullivan (D-Arlington) thought the motion was to pass it by for the week so she could amend the bill. After all, this tax has been a personal cause for Watts, and as the chair of the full committee, she has more power to push through its passage. But she immediately, and graciously, reiterated her intention to the surprised delight of those in opposition to the bill.
In a session where the Left is successfully pushing through an avalanche of bills affecting life, the economy, education, elections, religious liberty and foundational freedoms, this was a major victory. However, the “Death Tax” is still alive in the Senate. Senator Scott Surovell (D-36, Mount Vernon) has a similar bill which would have a devastating impact on Virginia businesses and landowners, and it will take an even stronger effort to stop it.