(WASHINGTON, December 4, 2009) -- Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector, issued the following statement on the passage by the House of Representatives of H.R.4154, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009. The legislation extends current estate tax levels, which exempt estates worth up to $3.5 million ($7 million for couples) and tax the remainder at 45 percent.

"We applaud Representative Earl Pomeroy and the U.S. House of Representatives for passing legislation that will permanently extend the federal estate tax before its scheduled expiration at the end of this year. We strongly urge the Senate to pass identical legislation immediately.

Our nation cannot afford to let the estate tax be further eroded or disappear, as will happen on January 1, 2010, if Congress does not extend the law. An end to or further reduction of the estate tax would mean both the loss of significant revenues for the federal government that fund diverse programs upon which Americans rely and the disappearance of a very strong incentive for people of great wealth to give back through their estates to support services vital to healthy communities and the well-being of Americans of all ages.

This legislation will not only address those needs, it will also provide certainty in estate tax planning and will protect virtually all family farms and small businesses from estate tax liabilities. We call on the U.S. Senate to act quickly to pass this legislation before the end of this year and protect this important incentive to give back to our communities through charitable contributions and tax revenues."

Learn more about the importance of protecting the estate tax.

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Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 550 charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit and philanthropic community.