Death tax hurts family businesses

I am writing this response to a letter regarding the repealing of the death tax.

I respectfully disagree with the author's claim that the repeal of the death tax is not a major issue for business owners or simply a windfall for heirs.

For me, this rhetoric could not be further from the truth. As a fourth generation entrepreneur, the repeal of this egregious tax is one of our top priorities.

The amount of time, energy and money spent with lawyers and accountants to simply comply with this tax takes time away from running the business, investing in technology or hiring more people.

The massive life insurance claims and hoops a business owner and their family members have to jump through is beyond comprehension.

I read a report where there are 24 million family-owned businesses and just 12 percent of those businesses make it to their third generation and only 3 percent make it to the fourth generation.

Family-owned businesses epitomizes the entrepreneur spirit. How many of these just sold the company because it's easier than dealing with the tax code?

For me and the two dozen employees we employ, the death tax represents an economic hurdle that we shouldn't deal with. That's why leaders in Congress should repeal this tax and stimulate the economy, especially now.

Jason Speer

Vice President

Fourth Generation

Quality Float Works, Inc.

Schaumburg