MISSOULA, Mont. –
On tax day, Senator Steve Daines, (R) Montana, Representative Ryan Zinke, (R) Montana, and the Montana Republican Party touted their support of a bill that would eliminate the federal estate tax.
Republicans call it the death tax.
In a press release, the Montana Republican Party said the measure would “protect 28,000 Montana farms and ranches from being unfairly punished by the federal government and ensure that future generations don’t face bankruptcy when their family farm is passed down to their children.”
However, we did some digging and found that the number of people affected by the estate tax is quite small.
Right now, only estates worth roughly $5 million or more are subjected to the 40 percent tax, and because of numerous loopholes, only 4,700 hundred families nationwide were affected by the tax in 2013, according to the non-partisan Joint Taxation Committee.
The Congressional Budget Committee estimates the tax raises about $20 billion per year.
Senator Tester has opposed repealing the estate tax.
The bill is scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives this week.
If the measure makes it to his desk, President Obama has vowed to veto it.