The elimination of an important tax provision could hurt farmers’ ability to pass their farm to the next generation. Recent proposals from Congress to eliminate stepped-up basis would have devastating consequences to Indiana farmers and farmers around the country.
Farm Bureau member Mike Brundige, a 4th generation farmer from Tennessee, says eliminating the stepped-up basis would prevent him from passing his farm on to the 5th generation.
“Our main goal is to keep the land in the family. Elimination of stepped-up basis would certainly lower the amount of our assets that we are able to pass on to our children. There’s no reason in having them accountable for taxes that accrued on it for forty or fifty years before.”
Brundige says more people will be impacted by the elimination of stepped-up basis than many realize, especially in agriculture where most farmers own land but don’t have the money to pay increased taxes.
“When you get into these questions about taxing any kind of wealth, especially at death, in my opinion it doesn’t matter where the rates are, there should be no tax applied anyways because that has all been taxed before. People think of it just being for people that are ultra-wealthy, but it’s not. It’s going to be a lot of just everyday people that maybe aren’t expecting it.”
If you’re an Indiana Farm Bureau member, check your inbox for an action alert recently sent calling on you to write your members of Congress. The email also includes a video that discusses the importance of stepped-up basis.
Source: NAFB News Service