House Passes Death Tax Elimination Bill

Family-owned community newspapers around the country applauded the June 9 passage of the Death Tax Elimination Act (H.R. 8) by the U.S. House of Representatives.      Approved by a vote of 279 to 136, this bill would repeal the estate tax over 10 years, and reduce the fears of family-owned newspapers that they would have to sell the paper to pay federal estate taxes.      "There’s nothing more devastating to a small town or rural community than when the newspaper that has been covering local news for several generations goes under or is sold to owners who are not part of the community," said Dan Phillips, National Newspaper Association (NNA) president and assistant publisher of the Oxford (MS) Eagle. "That’s what the death tax has been doing to our family-owned papers."      Both Republicans and Democrats voted for H.R. 8. A timetable for Senate action is unclear. President Clinton has previously threatened to veto any bill to eliminate the estate tax. However, he has recently indicated that the Administration may be willing to compromise, acccording to NNA.