NFIB

September 6. If you’re an American small-business owner, draw a red circle around this date on your calendar. It could be one of the most important dates of your life, the lives of your family and the future existence of your business.

In less than 30 days, on September 6, the United States Senate will reconvene in legislative session and is scheduled to take action on the Death Tax. Which means that between now and then, those elected lawmakers who can determine the survival of small businesses are not in Washington, D.C., but are back home in their states. Small-business owners need to take this unique opportunity to meet with their senators face-to-face to tell them to vote to repeal one of the most dangerous tax measures ever to see the light of day - the Death Tax.

Known by some as the estate tax, the Death Tax can literally mean the death of a family business. These enterprises are particularly vulnerable to the unfair tax because those who create small firms typically have the entire value of their business in their estate. If the owner dies, the heirs, who in a majority of cases have also contributed much of their time, energy and other resources to the building of the family business, are forced to stand back while the federal government rakes off between 45 percent and 55 percent of the estate. Even as the family mourns the death of a loved one, the pain grows greater as they watch helplessly as the survivability of the business he or she built is threatened.

The Death Tax does benefit some - mainly the accountants, lawyers or financial planners that small-business owners have to hire for help in translating confusing and complex tax regulations, instead of using those funds to expand and strengthen their business and hire more employees.

Congress almost killed the Death Tax once, but didn’t quite put small-business owners out of their misery. It expires in 2010. But unless permanently repealed, this monstrous measure is scheduled to revive itself and come back in 2011 to haunt those who drive the nation’s economy and worse, hang around to hover like the Grim Reaper over future generations of owners, their heirs and employees.

The House of Representatives, in April, voted to end the tax forever. President Bush has said he supports permanent repeal. Now it’s up to the Senate, where S. 420, officially titled the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005, is awaiting action. It already has 21 co-sponsors, so the task for small-business owners before September 6 is to talk to senators who have not yet committed to repeal and tell them why it is vital that they vote to kill the Death Tax.

Chasing after a senator might mean postponing a summer vacation, but by making repeal of this small-business-destroying tax a priority, American entrepreneurs will give their families something much more important and lasting. And when their hard work pays off, they can look forward to celebrating a true small-business holiday in September, the Day the Death Tax Died.