Ag Supports Bill Against Death Tax

Industry groups support the Preserving Family Farms Act of 2023, which would protect family businesses from the death tax.

Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19) and Mike Kelly (R-PA-16) reintroduced the legislation on July 26. The bill would allow producers to utilize the Section 2032A Special Use Valuation tool to pay estate taxes on the value of farmland based on ag use, rather than its development value. Panetta said the act would modernize the provision by increasing the amount of farmland that can be valued for farming operations.

“Outdated provisions in our tax laws are punishing family farms and causing them to split up or sell the land upon which they have spent generations working and building up,” Panetta said in a statement.

The bill has the support of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and California Cattlemen’s Association.

“Farm and ranch families who hope to stay in business, following the death of a family member, should be able to pay estate taxes on the value of their current business, not what their land might be worth if it were sold for another use,” said Zippy Duvall, AFBF president.

Source: Western Livestock Journal