Congress Wrestles With Estate Tax Repeal

July 19, 2000 11:00 AM, EDT

An estate tax relief bill that would benefit family-owned businesses, including trucking companies, ran into a political dogfight in the Senate, which also featured an unsuccessful attempt to temporarily lift the federal tax on diesel fuel and gasoline.

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	Senate Expected to Pass Estate Tax Bill (July 10) Estate Taxes in the Crosshairs (June 14) Family-Owned Trucking Company Feels Pinch of Federal Estate Taxes (June 8) (Note: To return to this story, click the "Back" button on your browser.)

Both Democrats and Republicans last week said the estate tax — also called the inheritance tax and the death tax — should be repealed but disagreed over how to achieve that end. A vote of the full Senate was scheduled for July 13, but wrangling over a series of amendments continued into the evening as Transport Topics went to press.

“All of us essentially agree that we should repeal the death tax,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.). He criticized the Republican bill for providing tax cuts to wealthy Americans, and endorsed the Democratic initiative to providing relief through reductions in the tax rate and more exemptions for family-owned businesses.

"I think the bill will pass and will affect the vast majority of trucking companies in this country," said Kevin William, president of the Distribution & LTL Carriers, Alexandria, Va.

For the full story, see the July 17 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.