Estate Tax Teleconference - November 2010

On Tuesday, November 16, 2010, United for a Fair Economy brought together the voices of four American small business owners for a national press teleconference to discuss why the federal estate tax is important for small businesses. Our speakers shared personal stories, explained the facts and dispelled the myths about the estate tax. 

Click here for media coverage.

Our featured speakers:

• Dave Eiffert, Snoqualmie, WA (statement)
  Co-founder and Co-owner of Snoqualmie Falls Brewery, craft brewery and tap room.
• Jerry Fiddler, San Francisco, CA (statement)
  Principal of venture capital firm, Zygote Ventures, and Founder of tech company, Wind River Systems.
• Jean Gordon, Little Rock, AR (statement)
  Co-owner of Frostyaire of Arkansas, agricultural freezing and cold storage company.
• John Russell, Portland, OR (statement)
  Owner of Russell Development Company, real estate development.

Our speakers are joining us at a critical juncture for the estate tax. The window for legislative action creaks to a close with each passing day before the current law sunsets and reverts back to pre-2001 levels at the start of the new year. After sharing their statements in support of a robust estate tax, the speakers addressed questions from members of both mainstream and alternative media outlets. 

IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE PRESS OR A BLOGGER , and would like to speak with UFE staff or one of our guest speakers about the estate tax, please contact Maz Ali at 617-423-2148 x101 or [email protected].

For other inquiries regarding the estate tax, please contact UFE’s Senior Organizer on Estate Tax Policy, Lee Farris, at [email protected] or 617-423-2148 x133.

Thank you for your interest in this event.

"Dave Eiffert, a small business owner who has worked with United for a Fair Economy, said he hoped for a higher estate tax ceiling and deeper tax cuts for the middle class instead of tax cuts for those making $200,000 and more. Eiffert, co-owner of Snoqualmie Brewery in Snoqualmie, Wash., said he is below the $200,000 income level and is opposed to the notion that tax cuts to the wealthiest will trickle down to create jobs for others.

But Eiffert said it is not too late for the public to speak its mind on the various tax issues before the year comes to a close.'I always hold out hope until it is a done deal,' said Eiffert. 'I urge people to contact their legislators and tell them what they want done. And I hope there will be something better than what has been proposed.'"

Read the full column on ABCNews.com

December 10, 2010

Weak Estate Tax Could Derail Tax Deal

"'It’s obscene and unnecessary, and it benefits no one but a handful of heirs of rich parents,' stated Mike Lapham, director for United for A Fair Economy’s Responsible Wealth project, in a release today calling for stronger tax provisions in the deal, and applauding House Democrats for their commitment to strengthening the plan. 'The estate tax is reason enough to reject the deal,' Lapham said. [...]"

Read the full post by Ashlea Ebeling on Forbes.com.

November 29, 2010

Estate Tax as a Hurdle to Resolving Bush-era Tax Cuts

"Forging an agreement [on the estate tax] has proven more complicated than splitting the difference on the numbers because this has been cast as a moral issue, said Lee Farris, senior organizer on estate-tax policy for United for a Fair Economy, a Boston-based group that advocates reinstating the estate tax.

“People are more dug in on their estate-tax positions on both sides than they are on the other positions,” Farris said. [...]"

Read the full column by Ryan Donmoyer on Bloomberg.com.

November 19, 2010

UFE's Lee Farris joined Rick Smith – Pennsylvania talk show host and voice of the working class – to discuss the outright betrayal of struggling Americans by Congressional Republicans, who are holding unemployment benefits for millions of people hostage in their misguided push for permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.

Download an MP3 of Rick's interview with Lee Farris. (37.5 MB)

November 18, 2010

Estate tax: Some Small Businesses Glad to Pay

"What do an 84-year-old family-business matriarch in Little Rock, Ark., a beer brewer in Snoqualmie, Wash., a real-estate developer in Portland, Ore., and a Silicon Valley entrepreneur have in common? They’re all calling on Congress to extend the estate tax — even if it takes a bite out of what they leave their heirs. [...]"

Read the full article on WSJ.com

November 16, 2010

Estate Tax? Bring it on

Andrea Coombes, Personal Finance Editor of The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch blog, talks estate tax with Jerry Fiddler in this video interview. According to Fiddler, a wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur, because the strength of our educational systems and success of the private sector depend on public services, he considers it a point of pride – not pain – to be able to pay back into the public good.

Watch the interview on MarketWatch.com

November 5, 2010

OP-ED: I'm a Genetic Lottery Winner - Tax Me!

Responsible Wealth member, Judy Pigott, shares why she considers her good fortune a call to action to help protect the common good in the US, starting with preserving and strengthening the federal estate tax.

More >>