Washington Might Have Death Tax as High as 40%

WASHINGTON - Dying in Washington is about to get more expensive.

The tax wouldn't affect every family in Washington - but the families who ARE affected would take a very big hit.

Senator Paul Guppy says, "It makes death a taxable event, even though taxes have been paid on this money all through the lifetime of the business, and then the family ends up getting hit with this extra cost."

He adds that it unfairly targets family businesses. Larger corporations aren't tied to a single name, and thus aren't affected by the death of an individual.

"It mostly affects small business owners who have spent their lifetime building up a business. It might be worth several million dollars, they want to keep it going and pass it on to their kids, but that point they would get hit by the death tax."

He worries that if this bill passes, many families whose founders spent years building up a business would be forced to sell it to compensate for the amount of taxes.