H.J.R. 13 Enrolled

JOINT RESOLUTION SUPPORTING REPEAL
OF FEDERAL ESTATE TAX
2003 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Craig W. Buttars
This joint resolution of the Legislature requests that the members of Utah's congressional
delegation work to pass and vote for the immediate and permanent repeal of the Estate
Tax.
Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
WHEREAS, under tax relief legislation passed in 2001, the Estate Tax was temporarily
phased out, not permanently eliminated;
WHEREAS, women and minorities are very often owners of small and medium-sized
businesses, and the Estate Tax prevents their children from reaping the rewards of a lifetime
trying to make a better life;
WHEREAS, farmers and other small businesses will face losing their farms and
businesses if the federal government resumes the heavy taxation of citizens at death;
WHEREAS, employees suffer when they lose their jobs when small and medium-sized
businesses are liquidated to pay estate taxes and because high capital costs depress the number
of new businesses that could offer them a job;
WHEREAS, if the Estate Tax had been repealed in 1996, over the next nine years the
United States economy would have averaged as much as $11 billion per year in extra output,
and an average of 145,000 additional new jobs would have been created;
WHEREAS, the persistent uncertainty created by the sunset provision prevents families
and small businesses from taking advantage of the temporary repeal; and
WHEREAS, having repeatedly passed both the United States House of Representatives
and the United States Senate, elimination of the Estate Tax has proven to hold wide bipartisan
support:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah
requests that the members of Utah's congressional delegation support, work to pass, and vote

for the immediate and permanent repeal of the Estate Tax.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the members of
Utah's congressional delegation.

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