Ed Orlet, NAED Vice President of Government Affairs, has called members to “Light Up the Hill” in a push to repeal the death tax for future generations.
St. Louis, MO – The National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) has announced a national initiative to push for death tax repeal. NAED members will “Light Up the Hill” to push for repeal of the death tax by helping to usher in the first vote in the House of Representatives in a decade.
The majority of NAED members are family-owned and operated businesses that are currently susceptible to the death tax. Currently 70 percent of family businesses do not survive to the second generation and more than 90 percent do not survive the third generation. The death tax creates a nightmare situation for distributors, which tend to be inventory-rich but cash-poor, meaning they do not have the cash on hand to pay a 40 percent tax at death.
“Our members are concerned about expanding their businesses and supplying the products which power the country,” said Ed Orlet, NAED vice president of Government Affairs. “The last thing our member business owners should be worried about is having to pay an unfair double tax at death. The President’s recent proposal to increase the death tax over 60 percent makes standing up for full repeal even more important this year. Our members will be focused on repealing this tax to make sure the next generation of business owners has a fair chance to continue their family’s American dream.”
In his recent budget, President Obama called for a second death tax to hit family businesses through the capital gains tax. This, in addition to his proposed changes to the federal estate tax, would create a nearly 65 percent tax at death for many of our business owners. NAED is dedicated to preventing this harmful death tax increase and will push for full elimination of the federal estate tax.
NAED will activate its membership to push for repeal through visits to Congressional offices by business owners, increasing pressure in home districts, working with industry partners to publish new research on the affect the death tax has on the distribution industry, and launching a nationwide campaign to bring the public’s attention to the need to repeal the death tax.
NAED is the trade association for the $70+ billion electrical distribution industry. Through networking, education, research, and benchmarking, NAED helps electrical distributors increase profitability and improve the channel. NAED’s membership operates in more than 5,100 locations internationally.