Senator Cantwell Conflicted in Estate Tax, Minimum Wage Fight

The latest news on the estate tax is that the fight may come down to a couple of key senators, including Sentator Cantwell who voted against the measure in June. See Senator Cantwell Conflicted in Estate Tax, Minimum Wage Fight, (August 2, 2006), Bloomberg.com.

Here are some excerpts:

The crucial vote for Republicans seeking to repeal estate taxes may be a Democratic senator who is in a tough re-election race and under conflicting pressures from multimillionaires in her home state of Washington.

Cantwell’s state is also home to outspoken advocates on both sides of the estate tax issue. Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen has been a leader in the decade-long campaign to wipe out the tax, while William H. Gates Jr., father of Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, is urging lawmakers to keep it.

Republicans are targeting Cantwell in the expectation that the state’s other Democratic senator, Patty Murray, might follow her lead to avoid presenting voters with an election-year split. Republicans would then need only one additional senator to vote to permanently reduce the levy’s impact on wealthy families.

Murray said yesterday she supports estate tax “reform” but has “some really deep concerns” about the legislation. She said it may worsen budget deficits at a time of mounting Iraq war costs, and the minimum-wage provisions would hurt workers in her state who are paid in tips.