U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Steering Committee, announced July 19 that he would force a vote on his amendment to permanently end the death tax as part of the debate on the small business bill.

The death tax rate is at 0 percent this year, but the president and Democrats plan to raise the death tax next year to 55 percent, allowing the federal government to seize more than half of many farms, small businesses and personal estates.

The new Obama death tax would carry an exemption of $1 million for individuals or $2 million for couples, but it would still have devastating effect on small businesses and family farms.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that one in 10 farms will be hit hard by the new death tax.

According to the Joint Economic Committee, 115,000 businesses were hit by the death tax between 1996-2005, including many small businesses.

"The death tax kills jobs, hurts small businesses, destroys family farms and President Obama's plan to hike it from zero percent to 55 percent next year is unconscionable," said DeMint. "The death tax is an unfair, immoral double tax on property and assets that folks have already paid taxes on throughout their lives. If President Obama and Democrats get their way, Washington could get over half of family estates, farms and small businesses, a greater inheritance than the children of the deceased."

"I recently met with the South Carolina Farm Bureau, and they made it clear that the death tax will end the American Dream for self-sustaining farms in our state and around the nation," DeMint said.

Analysis by the former director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, and the president of Research on the Economics of Taxation, Stephen Entin, found that raising the death tax as Obama intends to could destroy 500,000 jobs.

On the other hand, they also found that permanently repealing the death tax, as outlined by the DeMint amendment, could create 1.5 million jobs.

Recent studies by the American Family Business Institute found fully repealing the estate tax will increase the probability of hiring; increase payrolls; expand investment and reduce unemployment.

"Killing the death tax will create jobs and save thousands of family farms and small businesses. It's time to kill the death tax once and for all," said DeMint.