News
Minnesota farmer concerned tax proposals could fundamentally change structure of family farms
A Minnesota farmer says proposed changes to the estate tax could fundamentally change the way family farms are structured.
Kirby Hettver, a fifth-generation farmer from DeGraff, tells Brownfield he’s concerned.
“Obviously we don’t want to make any decisions without knowing a little more about what exactly they are going to end up with.”
President Biden has proposed to eliminate stepped-up basis, which would cause inherited assets, like land, to be taxed upon the previous owner’s death, and lower the estate tax threshold from $11.7 million to $500,000.
“In order for us to maintain (the farm) and pass it onto the sixth generation, based on the new policies if we need to make changes we’ll have to figure out what rules we’re playing by and play by them.”
Biden has mentioned his tax plan including protections for family farms and small businesses, and a letter signed by 80 members of Congress was sent to the President last month opposing the repeal of stepped-up basis and required payment of capital gains taxes at death.
The proposal would lower the exclusion to five million, indexed for inflation, not five hundred thousand. Where we were before the 2017 tax bill.