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Press Release
For Immediate Release - February 14, 2001
Contact:Betsy Leondar-Wright
(617) 423-2148 x13
bleondar-wright@faireconomy.org
Bill Gates, Sr., George
Soros, Steven Rockefeller, 100 Others
Oppose Estate Tax Repeal
Repealing the estate
tax "would be a terrible mistake," equivalent to "choosing
the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold-medal
winners in the 2000 Olympics."
—Warren
Buffett in this morning’s New York Times
Over 100 prominent
business and philanthropic leaders today issued a joint statement,
covered on the front page of today’s New York Times, opposing
President Bush’s proposed repeal of the estate tax. Signers
include William H. Gates, Sr.; George Soros; Steven C. Rockefeller
and other members of the Rockefeller family; Ben Cohen; art patron
Agnes Gund; other philanthropists; and members of Responsible Wealth
with both new entrepreneurial wealth and old inherited wealth. (See
statement and partial signer list below.)
Conference call:
Responsible Wealth will host an opportunity for journalists to interview
Bill Gates, Sr., Chuck Collins of United for a Fair Economy, and
other critics of estate tax repeal on Tuesday, February 20 at 1
p.m. EST. Some signers of the statement are also available for one-on-one
interviews.
"Repealing
the estate tax would leave an unfortunate legacy for America’s
future generations," the signers warn. Repeal would undermine
philanthropy and "would enrich the heirs of America’s
millionaires and billionaires while hurting families who struggle
to make ends meet." The signers say, "Let’s fix the
estate tax, not repeal it." For more information, visit www.responsiblewealth.org.
Responsible
Wealth is a national network of businesspeople, investors and affluent
Americans concerned about deepening economic inequality and advocating
widespread prosperity.
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To register
for Tuesday’s conference call,
please call
(617) 423-2148 x13
or send
an e-mail to bleondar-wright@faireconomy.org
or fax (617) 423-0196.
Registration
deadline: Friday 2/16/01. We will send you instructions for joining
the call.
NAME: ___________________________________________________
AFFILIATION:
______________________ PHONE: (____) ____ - ________
E-MAIL
________________________ FAX: (____) ____ - ___________
A Call
to Preserve the Estate Tax
We believe that
complete repeal of the estate tax would be bad for our democracy,
our economy, and our society. Repealing the estate tax, a constructive
part of our tax structure for 85 years, would leave an unfortunate
legacy for America’s future generations.
Only the richest
2 percent of our nation's families currently pay any estate tax
at all. Repealing the estate tax would enrich the heirs of America’s
millionaires and billionaires while hurting families who struggle
to make ends meet.
The billions
of dollars in state and federal revenues lost will inevitably be
made up either by increasing taxes on those less able to pay or
by cutting Social Security, Medicare, environmental protection,
and many other government programs so important to our nation's
continued well-being.
The estate tax
exerts a powerful and positive effect on charitable giving. Repeal
would have a devastating impact on public charities ranging from
institutions of higher education and land conservancies to organizations
that assist the poor and disadvantaged.
We recognize
the importance of protecting America's family farms and small businesses,
and the estate tax has many special provisions that do so. But this
concern — the rationale usually advanced for eliminating the
estate tax — can be addressed by amending the existing estate
tax system.
Let’s fix
the estate tax, not repeal it!
Signed,
William H. Gates,
Sr.
Steven C. Rockefeller
Eileen Rockefeller Growald
Robert Cook
Agnes Gund
Henry and Edith Everett
Peter Barnes
George Soros
Ben Cohen
Richard and Jing Lyman
Martin Rothenberg
Roger Rath
Mal Warwick
Katherine Pillsbury
David Rockefeller, Jr.
Judy Wicks
Mike Lapham
Carol Bernstein Ferry
Franklin and Jinx Roosevelt
Sarah Stranahan
and over 100 others
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