Tuesday, May 02, 2017

Federal policies on rural issues gain attention

After a week in which the Trump administration turned its attention to policies that affect farmers and ranchers, California agricultural leaders said they're encouraged by much of what they heard. Soon after Sonny Perdue was confirmed as U.S. agriculture secretary last week, President Donald Trump met with farmers, signed executive orders and introduced a tax plan that includes repeal of the federal estate tax—actions that could have a positive impact on U.S. agriculture and mirror policies of the California Farm Bureau Federation.  CFBF President Paul Wenger said farmers have advocated for years for repeal of the federal estate tax. "Relative to the tax reform proposals, the devil is in the details, but repeal of the federal estate tax is critical because it has burdened farming and ranching families for years, forcing them to sell land, livestock and equipment to pay the tax, or risk losing the farm or ranch," Wenger said. "It is immoral that some families have been forced to sell or significantly change their operations due to a death." The Trump administration tax-reform plan includes immediate repeal of the estate tax and would reduce the tax rate for owner-operated businesses and corporations. The tax plan would:

Create a business tax rate of 15 percent for all sizes of businesses; the current corporate rate is 33 percent.
 Develop three individual tax brackets of 10, 25 and 35 percent. Currently, there are seven individual tax rates with a maximum rate of 39 percent. Sole-proprietors and pass-through businesses (partnerships and Sub S corporations) currently pay taxes at individual rates.
Double the standard deduction for individuals to $24,000 per couple, meaning couples earning $24,000 or less would owe no tax. All personal deductions would be eliminated, except for the home mortgage deduction and the charitable deduction.
Maintain the top capital gains tax at 20 percent. The 3.8 percent surtax on investment income would be eliminated...more

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Calif has influenced a lot of snakey regulations on agriculture, and as CA goes - so goes the rest of the nation.

With Trump's election, we got a hold of that regulation snake - but only by the tail - because CA is the head of the snake - and if we don't cut off the head of the snake before the next election, it will come back to bite us and we'll be right back where we were before the last election.

CA Dems are trying to put thru CA SB 49 & 50.

SB 49 will enact the most stringent versions of WOTUS, ESA, & the Clean Air Act, with language to prevent any "backsliding".

SB 50 will give CA "right of first refusal" over private buyers on any land released by the Feds.

Also, with SB 1, Dems are proposing to steer money away (duh) from the new $52 billion gas & road repair tax for $ 5 million buy land for wildlife corridors & another $ 5 million to maintain park restrooms - I think that's per year.

One of the reasons Govs' want land is that they can charge taxpayers what ever they want for the costs of building, repair, maintenance of gov. land, and the land is too vast and remote to oversee the actual work.