Open Letter to U.S. Senator John Kyl from Robert L. Johnson

Open Letter to U.S. Senator John Kyl from Robert L. Johnson

WASHINGTON, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is an open letter to U.S. Senator John Kyl from Robert L. Johnson:

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050419/DCTU068 )

The Honorable John Kyl United States Senate 730 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Kyl:

The purpose of this letter is to urge you and the United States Senate to support the historic legislation passed by the United States House of Representatives calling for the total elimination of the "death tax."

As an African American who has generated wealth for my family by hard work, perseverance, and entrepreneurial vision, I believe it is totally unfair to deprive my family members of the assets I have created at the time of my death. To that end, in April 2001, I organized a number of prominent African-American businessmen and women who took out an ad in major newspapers across the country urging Congress to eliminate the estate tax. I am enclosing for your review and consideration, the statement that we issued at that time. I hope you will share this communication with all of your Senate colleagues and inform them that we believe that the estate tax is unfair and is especially burdensome on African Americans who, for the first time in the history of this country and against considerable odds in the form of racial discrimination, have accumulated wealth for themselves and their families.

If you have any questions regarding this correspondence, I invite you to contact me at your earliest convenience.

Warm regards,

Robert L. Johnson

RLJ:mrc

Cc: The Honorable Charles E. Grassley The Honorable Kenny Hulshof The Honorable Mitch McConnell The Honorable Charles E. Schumer The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050419/DCTU068 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: BET (Black Entertainment Television)

CONTACT: Michael Lewellen of BET, +1-202-608-2003

Web site: http://www.bet.com/

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