House panel approves $66 billion ag bill; change in ‘stepped-up basis’ is abandoned
The Democratic-controlled House Agriculture Committee approved its $66 billion part of President Biden's $3.5 trillion "build back better" bill on a party-line vote Monday, with Chairman David Scott saying he was confident that $28 billion will be added later for land stewardship and climate mitigation by farmers. Meanwhile, House Democrats said they would not alter a tax break that helps farmers pass land from generation to generation.
Shield farmers from higher taxes for Biden projects, says House ag chair
The Biden administration could "impose a significant financial burden" on farm families with its proposal for stricter application of capital gains taxes, said House Agriculture chairman David Scott on Wednesday. Scott also said any increase in estate taxes "for those taking over farmland is untenable."
Exempt farmers from Biden tax plan, ask 13 House Democrats
Thirteen House Democrats representing farm districts asked party leaders on Thursday to exempt farmers from President Biden's proposal to apply the capital gains tax more stringently. Iowa Rep. Cindy Axne, one of the organizers of the letter, said "a significant number of Democrats" support the farmer exemption.
Farmers worried by possible new capital gains, estate tax liability
Very few farm families pay estate taxes but almost all large-scale farmers are worried that changes in the tax code will increase their exposure to capital gains or estate taxes, said a Purdue University survey released on Tuesday. The poll was conducted before the White House said nearly …
To tax wealth, Biden would narrow ‘stepped-up basis’ loophole
President Biden proposed stricter application of capital gains taxes, potentially generating billions of dollars in federal revenue, on Wednesday by restricting use of the decades-old "stepped-up basis" that reduces liability on inherited property. Although the White House said it would not increase taxes on heirs who want to keep the family farm running, the largest U.S. farm group was skeptical that the protection could be fashioned into law.
Biden is expected to eliminate ‘stepped-up basis’
During his campaign for the White House, President Biden said he would eliminate "stepped-up basis," which allows heirs to avoid capital gains taxes, and he is expected to carry out the pledge this week to pay for an expansion of social programs. Farm groups say elimination of the tax break would impose a burden on agriculture.
Estate tax touches only a few farm families
Despite its fearsome reputation, only a comparative handful of farm households are obliged to file a federal estate-tax return and most of them will not pay the government any money, said USDA economists. Large tax exemptions — $11.58 million per person in 2020 — shield most estates from tax liability.
As Finance chairman, Grassley wants ‘more middle-income tax cuts’
When he used the power of seniority to claim chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee in the new session of Congress, Iowa’s Chuck Grassley said he wanted greater tax fairness for Americans. Many farm groups share his goal of additional tax relief.
Trump says tax bill mostly ‘wiped out’ the estate tax
During a half-hour “bill passage event” that resembled a pep rally for the Republican-written and -passed tax bill, President Trump said farmers and small-business owners will benefit because “for the most part, [the] estate tax is wiped out.”
Tax bill’s benefits for agriculture will be mostly temporary
The tax bill written by the Republican-controlled Congress would deliver “near-term benefits to many ag producers, but rate reductions and estate tax changes beneficial to ag are temporary” and bring the risk of higher taxes in the future, says the accounting firm K-Coe Isom.
House Republicans propose estate tax repeal in 2023
The $1.5 trillion tax-cut package unveiled by House Republicans would eliminate the estate tax – the most-hated tax in agriculture – in 2023, while allowing larger deductions for purchases of equipment, according to the Ways and Means Committee. Farm groups were muted in their comments as they assessed the 429-page bill.
Senate budget plan spares farm bill
The Republican-controlled Senate Budget Committee plans to approve its fiscal 2018 budget resolution this week. It will open the gate to $1.5 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years. The resolution, a blueprint for federal spending, foregoes any cuts in farm-bill programs, unlike the House package, which seeks a $10-billion cut in food stamps over a decade.
Indiana mega-farmer is face of Trump’s drive to repeal estate tax
The most hated tax in agriculture, the estate tax, would be repealed as part of the tax reform package unveiled by President Trump in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Mega-farmer Kip Tom, who operates more than 20,000 acres in Indiana and Brazil, was chosen by the White House to attend the speech and to serve as a living example of the peril of the “death tax.”
Trump touts tax reform, Perdue says it should include the estate tax
The first overhaul of the tax code in three decades should result in a one-page tax return for most Americans, President Trump said in Missouri, while declaring that tax reform is the foundation of job growth. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said separately that the estate tax, a bugaboo of the farm sector, should be part of the overhaul expected to be a Republican priority in Congress this fall.
Tax reform is great, say ag experts, if farmers can keep their breaks
President Trump won election partly on his promise of tax reform, boosting the prospects for the first comprehensive overhaul of the tax code in three decades. Witnesses at a House Agriculture Committee hearing said any reform package must retain benefits now available to farmers, such as deducting interest paid on loans and use of cash accounting to calculate income.
GOP senators try to kill the estate tax
More than two dozen Republican senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, signed on as sponsors of a bill by South Dakota Sen. John Thune to repeal the estate tax. Farm groups are long-time opponents of the tax, saying it disrupts transfer of property from one generation to the next.
‘There’s a lot more uncertainty’ as Trump era nears, says NFU leader
In 10 weeks, Donald Trump will become president and "there's a lot more uncertainty" about his plans for food and agriculture policy than normally accompanies an incoming administration, says president Roger Johnson of the National Farmers Union. "We know a fair amount of what he's against and less of what he's for."
Politifact rates Trump ‘war on farmers’ comments as false
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told a recent rally in Des Moines that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton wants to shut down family farms, impose radical regulations, push tax rates on farms and other businesses to 50 percent and impose an estate tax of up to 45 percent on farms. "We rate the combination of claims as False," concludes the independent fact-checking site Politifact.