Colorado ranchers pray for death of 'death' tax

For Dale Allee, a second-generation cattle rancher in southern Colorado, the idiom that nothing is certain but death and taxes is now a reality. "I just turned 80 last week. You know what that means? That means I'm not going to be around here very long, and somebody's going to have to pay those taxes," said Allee, who fears federal estate taxes will thwart his plans to pass his 4,200-acre Pueblo County ranch to his children. Land-rich but cash poor, Western ranchers are lobbying Washington to exempt them from the estate tax, which can force heirs to sell their inheritance — often to real estate developers — to pay the duty within a nine-month deadline. Washington might be listening, according to the Colorado Cattlemen's Association, which represents 12,000 beef producers in an industry that generates $16 billion a year, making it the state's third largest. "The current administration is lending a favorable ear toward agriculture on this issue," insists executive director Terry Fankhauser. In 2009, the federal government requires heirs of an estate worth more than $3.5 million — if owned by an individual — and $7 million, if owned by a couple, to pay a tax on up to 45 percent of the estate's appraised value. Fankhauser said an average ranch operation with 200 to 300 head of cattle would easily break through that $3.5 million threshold...AP