State of the Union Tax Reform

State of the Union Tax Reform. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture.

The American Farm Bureau welcomes President Obama's comments on tax reform. AFBF Public Policy Executive Director Dale Moore says tax reform must be comprehensive.

MOORE: Any tax reform proposal or legislative effort that does not consider the individual tax code more likely has a chance to hurt farmers and ranchers. We want to protect the farmer and rancher business tax deductions, but at the same time, we need to make sure that those individual tax reforms are part of that package as well.

The President also called on Congress to pass Trade Promotion Authority - which Moore says is important to agricultural exports and the rural economy.

MOORE: We need the Trade Promotion Authority in order to give the Executive Branch the assurance that they need when they go to the negotiating table and say yes, if we can get this deal, can't promise you that Congress is going to approve it, but we do know that Congress will not change it.

Immigration reform also is important to the American Farm Bureau, and President Obama has called for passage of this reform. The key component in this reform for AFBF is ag labor reform.

MOORE: You don't have the ability to wait a week, or two, or three until you get the workers you need, and it costs farmers a lot of money when they don't have the labor they need, but it also impacts consumers, either by driving up the costs of food, or by reducing availability in terms of a steady, reliable supply of fruits and vegetables.

That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.