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Farm groups not backing down on stepped-up basis

Farm groups are cautiously optimistic that changes to stepped-up basis were not included in draft tax legislation by House Democrats Monday.

But Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins tells Brownfield farmers should continue conversations with their legislators on stepped-up basis.

“If this comes back up, it is a non-starter,” Hawkins said. “Stepped-up basis is critical; it is a critical aspect of the tax code that makes it possible for us to plan with more certainty about how we pass our farms on to the next generation.”

Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue said he addressed a crowd of farmers this week at Husker Harvest Days about how the removal of stepped-up basis would impact their farms…

“When I opened the question up and said, ‘how many people, given the current exemptions, would still affected negatively financially by stepped-up basis?’… almost every farmer in the crowd raised their hand.”

Hawkins said the draft legislation would still cause issues for farmers because it would revert the estate tax exemption to the pre-2017 level of $5.5 million per person, down from more than $11 million.

McHargue and Hawkins said their organizations will be watching the House Ways and Means Committee’s markup of the bill Wednesday for any amendments.