Congressman Thompson Reintroduces Legislation to Help Family Farms

Press Release

Today, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) reintroduced legislation that would bring tax relief to the owners of family farms and open spaces. The "Family Farm Preservation and Conservation Estate Tax" bill would defer the payment of the estate tax for families as long as the land remains in agriculture or open space.

"The current estate tax unfairly burdens family farmers who are typically land-rich but cash-poor. The estate tax forces these families to sell off their land to pay the tax", said Congressman Mike Thompson. "The breakup of family farms in many places means selling to developers, which causes a loss of key agricultural land and open space. By easing this tax burden on families they can keep their livelihoods."

Congressman Thompson has introduced similar estate tax legislation in previous Congresses to aid family farms. The estate tax was reinstated at the end of last year and applies to estates in excess of $5 million. In 2013, the estate tax will apply to estates over $1 million, meaning even more family farms will be forced to sell their farms to pay the estate tax.

The legislation introduced by Congressman Thompson would allow owners of a family farm to defer payment of any estate tax as long as the property remains in farming. If the heir decides to take the property out of agriculture, they will pay the estate tax at the current appraised value of the land.

"I'm happy to hear that Congressman Thompson is re-introducing his estate tax proposal, which is extremely important to helping farmers and ranchers maintain ownership of their farms, which are often times owned or operated by several generations of family members," said Paul Wenger, president of the California Farm Bureau. "This proposal will help producers who make their livelihood from farming and ranching to pass the ownership of the farm to the next generation without the onerous, costly and complicated challenges of the estate tax."

Congressman Thompson is a senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee which has jurisdiction over federal tax matters, including estate tax policy. During a Ways and Means Committee hearing today on fundamental tax reform, Congressman Thompson spoke of the need to find a way to enact his legislation and provide a permanent estate tax solution to protect family farmers in his district and throughout the country.

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