My Estate Should Be Taxed

By Martin Rothenberg

Philadelphia Inquirer, September 7, 2000

My family is in that top 2 percent of wealthy Americans who would have
gained a windfall if the estate tax had been eliminated. But I spoke at the
White House last week in support of the President’s veto of estate tax
repeal and was relieved Congress failed to override the veto.

Estate tax repeal would have undercut the very things that help Americans
from all walks of life to get ahead and create new businesses and wealth.
For even when wealth is a product of hard work, it’s not "self-made." It
often results from a strong economy and a lot of support from public
programs paid for, in part, by the estate tax.

In my own case, I received a good public school education and used free
libraries and museums paid for by others. I went to college under the GI
Bill. I went to graduate school to study computers and language on a
complete government scholarship, paid for by others. While teaching at
Syracuse University for 25 years, my research was supported by numerous
government grants—again, paid for by others.

My university research provided the basis for a language technology company
I formed in 1991 with some graduate students and my son, Larry. Our company
thrived in the technology-driven economic expansion—a boom fueled by
continual public and private investment. Five years later, Syracuse Language
Systems sold for $30 million, a sizeable part of which went to my family and
me.

I’ve never once heard my family complain about the prospect of part of their
inheritance going toward an estate tax. That’s because we all believe that
paying estate tax does not mean choosing between taking care of your
children and grandchildren, or giving back to society. You can do both. I
was able to provide well for my family and, upon my death, I hope taxes on
my estate will help fund the kind of programs that benefited me and others
from humble backgrounds—a good education, money for research, and targeted
investment in poor communities, to help bring opportunity to all Americans.

We’ve used part of our wealth to set up a family foundation, run by my
daughter, Sandra, to help less fortunate children get a good education. The
estate tax encouraged me to do this, with its deductions for charitable
contributions. Experts say that without the estate tax, charities would lose
billions. Estate tax elimination would threaten our country’s unique balance
of public and private support for charitable institutions.

My family and I also share the belief that the growing divide between the
poor and the extremely wealthy is a real threat to our nation’s prosperity.
We’ll all lose, rich and poor, when our society becomes even more divided.

The estate tax is one important tool to keep that from happening.
Without the estate tax, a child could inherit millions, even billions of
dollars in appreciated stocks and real estate, without anyone having paid a
penny in taxes for that appreciated value. Without revenue from the estate
tax, there would be an even greater burden on taxpayers who never inherit a
dime

While targeted estate tax relief may well be needed to better protect some
farmers and small business owners, it’s not needed for my family and me.
Fortunately, I’m not alone in my thinking. I belong to a national network of
businesspeople, investors and affluent Americans, known as Responsible
Wealth, who didn’t want this unwarranted and costly tax break for the
wealthy. We want every American to have the same opportunities that I had to
build a prosperous future for their children and grandchildren.

Let’s stop any more efforts to give tax breaks to wealthy Americans. Let’s
make public education a priority, take care of our children and seniors,
keep the economy growing, and extend prosperity to all our citizens.

Martin Rothenberg is the founder and former CEO of Syracuse Language
Systems, an educational software company, and president of Glottal
Enterprises, a manufacturer of computer-based systems for the remediation of
speech communication disorders.

© 2000 The Philadelphia Inquirer

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