Oklahoma State Senate
Assistant Republican Floor Leader
Senator Owen Laughlin
State Capitol Room 529-B
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
(405) 521-5626

For Immediate Release: February 10, 2006

Death Tax Needs to Be Eliminated

- Sen. Leftwich’s proposal ‘nibbles around the edges’

State Sen. Owen Laughlin, Assistant Republican Floor Leader, said Friday that Oklahoma’s death tax needs to be fully eliminated, and said a proposal by Senate Democrats to amend the death tax law is inadequate.

“Sen. Leftwich’s proposal is a pretty good idea, but it just nibbles around the edges. Oklahoma needs to fully eliminate the death tax,” stated Laughlin, R-Woodward. “It’s double taxation to tax one’s income and then to tax the same person again upon their death. A family shouldn’t have to sell off the farm or small business just to pay the death tax.”

On Wednesday rural Republican senators announced that fully eliminating Oklahoma’s death tax is their top priority for 2006.

“By fully eliminating the death tax instead of just tinkering with it, we can attract more capital, more investments, and more good jobs to our state. We can help save family farms and small businesses,” said Laughlin, the chairman of the Senate Republican Rural Caucus, a group of GOP senators who represent rural districts.

For more information contact:
Senate Republican Assistant's Office - (405) 521-5654