Please contact your congressman NOW. They could be voting on HR 8 to extend the death tax considerations TODAY
Talking points:
• I strongly encourage you to support a tax package that maintains the current estate tax relief levels at $5 million and 35% tax rate. American agriculture cannot allow the estate tax to revert to the $1 million exemption level and a 55% tax rate.
• 96 percent of Ameri
can farms and ranches are owned and operated by families.
• The value of most farms and ranches is tied up in assets like land, which we use to feed the world.
• Farm land values are significantly increasing across the country. (see attached spreadsheet)
• While land value is a major factor for calculating the value of an estate, that does not take into consideration the total value of farm implements, vehicles, livestock, crops, etc. that are part of the total estate value.
• This is not a tax on the wealthy elite in America. The wealthy can afford accountants and estate planners to help them evade the tax. It’s a death warrant for small-to-medium sized family businesses.
• Farmers and ranchers are good at working with unpredictable conditions like the weather and input costs, but the tax code should not be an unpredictable condition.
• Until full repeal of and relief from the death tax can be achieved, at minimum, please maintain current estate tax policy with an exemption level at $5 million and the maximum rate of 35%.
Grant County Copper CowBelles 