Farm Killer Tax

Floor Speech

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Mr. MANN. Madam Speaker, in preparation for reauthorizing the farm bill in 2023, I rise today to deliver the sixth installment of my farm bill impact series, where I am highlighting various aspects of the farm bill that deserve Congress' awareness and support. For this legislation to be effective, it must support the efforts of both today's farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers, as well as those of the next generation.

I had planned to get up on the floor today to talk about how America's hope for food security in the future lies on the shoulders of young Americans who are voluntarily bearing the burden of feeding, fueling, and clothing the world. I was going to talk about all the great programs and organizations that we have in this country for young people who are interested in agriculture. I was going to talk about the new Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program through USDA, and the importance of preserving the stepped-up basis in the Tax Code to ensure that family farms in America don't get taxed out of existence.

Then President Biden's disastrous budget came out earlier this week. President Biden threatens the stepped-up basis yet again as we know it in the budget that he just released. If it becomes law, the food security and, therefore, national security of America hangs in the balance.

Here is why the stepped-up basis exists and why it is so important. Let's say you are a young person working on your family's farm, and you are slowly taking on responsibility and risk. You work for your parents in the operation until the time comes for you to inherit the land, equipment, and livestock. When that happens, the Federal Government should not jump in and impose taxes on the unrealized gain of your inherited land and assets. This principle is called the stepped-up basis, which has long been precedent in the Tax Code.

The President's budget imposes new capital gains taxes at death, which will kill family farms. This is appalling. America is trying to recover from a pandemic, and farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers are struggling to survive as they cope with crises that this administration has caused, like the broken supply chain and rampant inflation. And now this administration wants to impose new taxes on these people?

And the President didn't stop there. His budget also includes a new capital gains tax that I am going to call the farm killer tax. In Biden's budget, unbelievably, there is a proposal to impose capital gains taxes on farms that have been in families for over 90 years. Think about that. In 1940, the average cost of Kansas farmland was $50 per acre. Now, irrigated land is over $4,000 per acre. Imagine the capital gains tax implications in that history of ownership. This proposal would impose hundreds of thousands of dollars in new capital gains taxes on farmers, killing their businesses overnight.

Again, I was going to stand here today and talk about how important it is for Congress to support farmers, particularly the men and women who operate family-owned-and-operated multi-generational family farms. I was going to talk about how, in the name of supporting America's incredible producers, Congress needs to think carefully and critically about the programs we reauthorize in the 2023 farm bill.

I didn't expect that I would see the farm killer tax in the budget this week. This new tax is not a game-changer, it is a game-ender for thousands of family farms. I am, frankly, in disbelief.

Farming is a multi-generational calling. Farmers, ranchers, and ag producers are my family and friends. They are America's heroes, and the ideas in this budget, threatening the stepped-up basis and imposing the new farm killer tax, are going to destroy the livelihoods of many in agriculture and make our country less secure. The President needs to wake up to reality. Farmers, ranchers, and agriculture producers have earned our support, and his budget ideas are the opposite of that. They are a gut punch to the people who feed, fuel, and clothe this Nation.

This week, I am introducing a bipartisan resolution, along with 66 of my colleagues, that supports the preservation of the stepped-up basis, opposes any efforts to impose new taxes on family farms and small businesses, and recognizes the importance of generational transfers of farm and small business operations. Again, this is something I was going to do anyway because of how important preserving the stepped-up basis is. Today, given Biden's disastrous budget, this message is more important.

If we want to invest in the future of our country, which I think we can all agree that we do, we need to invest in the next generation of America's farmers, ranchers, and ag producers. I will be back on the floor soon to deliver another installment of my farm bill impact series and highlight more programs and titles within the bill that Congress must understand and support to ensure that agriculture thrives in America. Hopefully, when I am standing here to speak next time, I won't have to address any more ideas that this administration may have had for destroying the livelihoods of America's farmers, ranchers, and ag producers. We must kill Biden's farm killer tax.

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