Local legislators are rallying against the Biden tax plan that they say could be the end of family farms.
The Biden administration’s proposed tax hikes, and particularly changes in the death tax and capital gains taxes, have the potential to put local farms out of business.
State Senator Dan Lauwers, himself a family farmer, said, “This is the kind of policy that eliminates family farms. Families can’t afford to tie up that kind of money. It’s going to be corporations that run farms as a business, not as a family.”
Referring to the changes proposed to the capital gains tax, Michigan Farm Bureau President Carl Bednarski said, “With the loss of that stepped-up basis, the next generation may be forced to sell off large portions of the vital farm assets just to pay that capital gains tax. As a result, economic viability of our farms would be severely impacted, in fact, we may see farms discontinue and go out of business.”
Congresswoman Lisa McLain, a Republican from Michigan’s 10th District, authored a letter to President Biden explaining the need to rethink the policy proposals. A link to the letter:
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
