"Can you imagine working your whole life to build up a family-owned business and then upon your death Uncle Sam swoops in and takes nearly half of what you spent a lifetime building up for your children and grandchildren?" asked Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, who sponsored the bill. The White House has threatened to veto the bill in part because it would add $269 billion to the budget deficit over the next decade. The House also passed a bill to make permanent a deduction for state and local sales taxes that expired at the beginning of the year. The federal tax rate on estates is 40 percent, but big exemptions limit the share of estates that pay it to fewer than 1 percent. The deduction for state and local sales taxes helps people who live in the nine states without a state income tax on wages. House Republicans say the measure is about fairness because people in states that have incomes taxes can deduct those taxes on their federal returns.