As the adage goes, nothing in life is certain except death and taxes. From cradle to grave, Americans are required to pay taxes every step of the way. As Congress addresses our tax policies through the reconciliation process, we must be mindful of the death tax our family farms and small businesses face because of the loss of a loved one.

Under current law, the federal estate tax allows the government to take one more swipe at an individual’s assets upon their death, at a rate ranging from 18% to 40%. Unfortunately, this often creates a devastating and immediate burden on families who must assume enormous tax liability due to the transfer of business assets from a deceased family member.

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Manufacturers, farmers, and other family-owned ventures are particularly affected because they own expensive and illiquid assets, such as equipment or land, that are essential to the business and cannot easily be sold to pay Uncle Sam or anyone else to prevent forfeiture.

During his first term, through the signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, President Donald Trump excluded more of a family-owned business’s assets from the death tax, easing their tax burden when a loved one dies. This policy is set to expire at the end of 2025, and if Congress fails to act, thousands of additional family-run enterprises may be forced to shut down.

The effect of the death tax is not just theoretical. It affects real people and businesses. The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing to receive feedback from working families on the Trump tax cuts. Courtney Silver, a Concord, North Carolina machine shop owner, shared her story regarding the death tax.

“When I lost my husband in 2014 to brain cancer,” she said, “not only did I have to worry about keeping the business afloat, but I was so worried about a looming tax bill that might have forced us to halt production altogether.”

While we need to raise revenue to pay for the essential functions of our federal government, we must be intelligent with tax policy. We need pro-growth policies to create job growth, improve wages, and increase revenues. However, we cannot achieve this by destroying family-owned businesses and farms by taxing them out of existence. The death tax destroys local financial engines and the way of life for millions of good, hard-working people.

TRUMP’S TARIFF REVENUES WON’T ALLOW LOWER TAXES

At its best, the U.S. economy fosters opportunity, incentivizes upward mobility, and creates financial stability. We cannot afford to levy another burden on families who are the backbone of the U.S. economy, the foundation of our nation’s success story, and whose livelihoods are intertwined with their occupation.

As Congress works through budget reconciliation to prevent a $4.7 trillion tax hike, we must continue to limit the damage of the death tax, either by preserving the current exemption level or repealing the tax altogether. We cannot tax ourselves into prosperity; we must entrust hardworking Americans with creating it.

Greg Murphy, M.D., is a member of Congress from North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District

Randy Feenstra is a member of Congress from Iowa’s 4th Congressional District

Jay Timmons is the CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers