The U-S House votes today on a bill that’d permanently end the estate tax in 2012, a move Congressman Tom Latham of Alexander hails.Latham says the so-called “death tax” is one of the biggest obstacles to farmers and small business people who want to pass their livelihood on to the next generation. Latham calls the tax “immoral” for punishing families for saving and investing in their family business.Congress last year passed a bill that would gradually eliminate the estate tax over the next 10 years, but after that decade of decline, Latham says the way that bill was written, the “death tax” would be reinstated in 2012. He says they want to make the repeal permanent. Latham faces democrat John Norris of Ames in the November election.