Use of like-kind exchanges could be at risk under Biden tax plan
Under Biden s proposal, future Section 1031 exchanges could be used to defer taxes on gains of no more than $500,000, a cap that would fall particularly hard on states such as California, Illinois and Iowa that have relatively high farmland values.
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Philip Brasher / Agri-Pulse Communications | 9:49 am, May 13, 2021 ×
Like-kind exchanges typically work like this: A farmer who sells a piece of property and then buys a second piece of property doesn’t have to pay capital gains on the first tract until the second one is sold, and the farmer won’t owe any taxes if he or she dies without selling the second tract. (Agri-Pulse photo)
-The Hagstrom Report
The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition have all submitted comments to the Agriculture Department in response to USDA’s request for comment on President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.
The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance, which has 70 farm and environmental groups as members, recommended to the Agriculture Department today that it start pursuing its climate change objectives with pilot projects. Its members include the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union, the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and the Environmental Defense Fund.
Agriculture organizations sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai highlighting the great strides the U.S. ag industry has made toward environmental sustainability and climate goals and stressing the importance of voluntary, market and incentive-based policies to help rural economies better adapt to climate change.
The letter comes in response to remarks that Tai made April 15 on “Trade Policy, the Environment and Climate Change.” Tai remarked that “climate-friendly and sustainable agricultural production is essential to meeting our climate and sustainability goals” and U.S. farmers and ranchers can lead the world with innovative carbon conservation practices.
Suggested Event
Jun 15, 2021 to Jun 17, 2021
In his joint statement to Congress after nearly 100 days into office, President Joe Biden tried to urge action on some of his top priorities. For those in farm country, it’s important what he did and didn’t say.
In his opening comments, Biden said, “I come to talk about crisis and opportunity, about rebuilding the nation, revitalizing our democracy, and winning the future for America.”
I think most surprisingly out of his speech was the lack of fine details about his tax reform that he plans to use to pay for the wish list. In a call with senior White House officials before the speech, components of his increase in estate taxes and elimination of stepped-up basis were paramount.
Pierre, SD, USA / DRGNews
Apr 29, 2021 | 1:56 PM
South Dakota Senator John Thune– a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee– and committee chairwoman Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow have reintroduced the Cover Crop Flexibility Act.
The legislation would remove the prohibition on harvesting or grazing cover crops on prevented plant acres prior to November 1 and allow this flexibility outside of the primary nesting season.
This legislation is an offshoot of Thune and Stabenow’s 2019 effort that led the US Department of Agriculture to make an administrative change that allowed for penalty-free haying and grazing, which significantly benefited states like South Dakota and Michigan. In 2020, Thune and Stabenow again requested that USDA move up the November 1 date to September 1, but the department only provided flexibility in certain counties in South Dakota and North Dakota. This bill would provide a permanent solution to this issue and create greater certainty fo