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President's Tax Bill Addresses Cattle Industry Priorities The White House delivered a tax package to Capitol Hill that includes top cattle industry priorities such as estate tax elimination, removal of the alternative minimum tax and removal of the marriage penalty, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said. "It's important for cattle producers to be able to keep more of their dollars at home on the ranch and in their communities," said Lynn Cornwell, a cattle producer from Glasgow, Mont., and president of NCBA. "We wholeheartedly support President Bush's proposal to ease the tax burden on cattle ranchers and all American families." Bush's tax proposal would reduce marginal income tax rates and eliminate the death tax, a provision in the tax code that cattle producers have opposed for many years. The industry has persistently vied to eliminate death taxes because they can lead to the break up family farms and ranches. Cattle producing families are often faced with two options: * Paying accountants and lawyers to help plan their estates to avoid paying exorbitant amounts in estate taxes upon a family member's death, or * Selling land, property, part of the cattle herd or equipment vital to keeping cattle ranches functioning. "These are unfair choices," Cornwell said. "Either way, cattle producers are paying far too much of their income to avoid a tax or pay a tax whose basic premise - taxing death - is wrong in the first place." Cattle producers are currently rallying support for a stand-alone bill soon to be introduced by Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash. Dunn, along with Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn., is introducing the Death Tax Elimination Act. The highlight of the bill is reducing all death tax rates by 5 percent per year. In the 10th year, full death tax repeal would take place. Further, a bipartisan coalition of four senators is also introducing legislation to repeal estate and gift taxes. The bill calls for eliminating death from the IRS Code as a "taxable event." The senators include John Kyl, R-Ariz., Phil Gramm, R-Texas, John Breaux, D-La., and Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark. Sen. Gramm also introduced a bill earlier this month that addresses cattle industry tax priorities. "Cattle producers are elated that both the president and Congress have chosen to address tax relief early in the session," Cornwell said. "We won't rest, however, until Congress passes a final bill and the president signs death tax elimination and other tax relief measures into law." |
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