Van Hilleary Calls On Senate Republicans To Fight For The Permanent Repeal Of The 'Death Tax'

Van Hilleary Calls On Senate Republicans To Fight For The Permanent Repeal Of The 'Death Tax'

Posted on July 26, 2005

Murfreesboro, TN - Republican United States Senate candidate Van Hilleary today called on Senate Republicans to fight for the permanent repeal of the 'Death Tax'. Hilleary expressed concern that Senate Democrats and a few weak-kneed Republicans will block the permanent repeal of the 'Death Tax' and cited this as a perfect example of why we need solid sincere conservatives in the U.S. Senate.

" Permanent repeal of the Death Tax is about freedom. All Republicans in the U.S. Senate, not just some of them, need to stand up for working Americans and cast a vote that is in support of families, small businesses, and economic freedom and repeal of the unfair death tax," said Hilleary. "The Republican Party is the party of lower taxes, less spending and smaller government. It is high time the Members of our party who have been elected to the Senate fight for Republican principles instead of catering to the tax and spend left."

A Senate vote on the permanent repeal of the death tax was expected to take place prior to the August recess but recent reports from Washington indicate that the vote may be delayed because Senate Democrats and a few Republican senators are unwilling to agree to a permanent and full repeal.

" As a conservative Republican I am deeply concerned that a few weak-kneed, liberal Republicans may keep the 'Death Tax' from being eliminated once and for all. This a perfect example of why we need to elect a Republican senator who has always believed in conservative principles, not one who only sounds conservative now that we are in an election for the Republican nomination ," said Hilleary. "For eight years in Congress I fought to lower taxes and allow working Americans to keep more of what they earn. In Tennessee I stood up to Don Sundquist and Jimmy Naifeh when they tried to impose a state income tax. In the U.S. Senate I will stand up and continue to fight to lower taxes, curb spending and reduce the size and scope of government."

President Bush's tax relief passed both houses of Congress, and was signed into law. But due to obscure budgetary rules invoked in the Senate, the tax cuts will expire in 2011. Under President Bush's plan the Death Tax will fully phase out by 2010, but unless the Senate acts to make the repeal permanent, the tax will jump back to year 2000 levels in January of 2011 -a huge tax increase. Therefore, folks with similar assets who die hours apart could leave their children with much higher tax bills.

" I am running for the U.S. Senate because I care about the direction of our country. I believe that lower taxes and less government mean more freedom. The stakes are high and we need to send a clear signal to Washington if you have a record of raising taxes, you will not be elected as a Republican Senator, especially in the South," concluded Hilleary.

This Senate race for the Republican nomination is a clear contest between the Reagan Wing of our party and the Sundquist Wing of our party. If our new senator from Tennessee does not have a core belief that government should be smaller, regulations should be fewer, and taxes should be lower, and a record to back up these assertions, he will not develop them in Washington once elected.

Hilleary, a four-term Congressman, has built a reputation as a straight-talking sincere conservative who stands his ground. He was a leader in revolutionary Class of '94 which enacted a conservative agenda that lowered taxes, reformed welfare and balanced the federal budget for the first time in a generation. As a leader in Congress, Hilleary opposed President Clinton's left-wing agenda on the Budget and Armed Services Committees. Hilleary has always been an advocate of private property rights and of the pro-life cause. In Tennessee, Hilleary stood up to Gov. Don Sundquist and Speaker Jimmy Naifeh when they tried to impose a state income tax, even as many other prominent Republicans stood by in silence.

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