Almost all family farms would be saddled with significant estate tax bills under proposals in Congress for changes in estate tax rules, a new study shows.

The study by Texas A&M University looked at the impact of the proposed tax changes on 94 representative farms in 30 states, including several in Iowa. 

It found that, primarily be­cause of increase in land values over the years, the proposed tax changes would force nearly all the farms they studied to pay steep estate tax bills. The average estate tax bill for the farms in the study ranged from more than $726,000 to well over $2 million.

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