There is something inherently wrong with a tax system that leaves some married couples paying more than if they had filed as singles.

And there is something very wrong with a tax system that forces families to sell their businesses or farms when the head of the family dies.

Congress corrected both of those flaws this year by approving two tax reform measures on a bipartisan vote. President Clinton vetoed both bills. Unfortunately, the U.S. House of Representatives couldn’t muster enough votes to override the President’s vetoes.

According to the President, the reforms would cost the U.S. Treasury too much — too much in a day when our government is running a large surplus.

Currently, the Internal Revenue Service can collect up to 55 percent of the assets of a family-owned business or farm when a father or mother dies. Often those assets are not liquid — in other words, it’s not cash sitting in some bank account ready to pay Uncle Sam. Most of the money is tied up in property, machinery, equipment or inventory that is critical to the operation of the business.

Over the years, Congress has reduced the estate tax in small ways. The legislation President Clinton spiked would have gradually eliminated the so-called “Death Tax” over the next decade, giving the Treasury time to adjust and garner new revenues from other federal taxes — taxes paid by those flourishing family-owned farms and businesses.

Hopefully, with a new President, Congress will send both bills back to the White House and next time they will be signed into law.

(Editor’s Note: Don Brunell is president of the Association of Washington Business (AWB) AWB’s 3,700 members range from the state’s largest employers to the smallest, and employ over 600,000 workers in our state. Visit AWB on the Web at www.awb.org.).