Farm Bureau: Tax code Must Promote the Business of Farming and Ranching
Author
Published
5/9/2017
In response to the release of President Donald Trump’s tax plan, AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a statement: “Farmers and ranchers need a tax code that promotes the business of farming and ranching and recognizes the unique financial challenges we face. Farm Bureau welcomes a pro-business approach to tax reform, but any tax reform proposal must treat all businesses fairly. Most farm and ranch businesses don’t operate like large corporations: they are family-run businesses that depend on deductions and provisions that give them the flexibility they need to keep their businesses running in all seasons.”
Lower tax rates will go a long way in helping farmers and ranchers, Duvall pointed out. However, the future of other important provisions for agriculture—like immediate expensing, the deduction for interest expense, cash accounting and like-kind exchanges—is still unclear.
“Farm Bureau is pleased to see President Trump’s plan will immediately take on one of our top concerns, the estate tax,” Duvall said. “Eliminating the estate tax will free farmers to invest in the future of their family businesses rather than selling off their land and legacy when a family member dies. Farmers and ranchers have already benefitted from congressional action to reduce this burden, and we’re ready to bury the death tax once and for all.”
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