Over 30 agricultural organizations are urging Congress to provide farmers and ranchers with permanent relief from the estate tax. 

P. Scott Shearer, Vice President

November 26, 2012

1 Min Read
Groups Call for Estate Tax Relief
Over 30 agricultural organizations are urging Congress to provide farmers and ranchers with permanent relief from the estate tax.

Over 30 agricultural organizations are urging Congress to provide farmers and ranchers with permanent relief from the estate tax.  In a letter to the House of Representatives and the Senate, the organizations urged lawmakers to extend the exemption level and retain the 35% rate until permanent repeal is achieved. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said, “America’s farmers and ranchers are small business owners who cannot afford to foot the bill for government inaction. The fate of American agriculture and our economic recovery rests on there being certainty in the tax code and continued relief from the burdensome death tax.” The exemption for 2012 is $5.12 million with the tax rate on an estate’s value above the exemption of 35%.  Unless this issue is addressed in the lame duck session, beginning Jan. 1, 2013, the exemption levels drop to $1 million per individual with a tax rate of 55%. Those groups signing the letter included the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Sheep Industry Group, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the National Pork Producers Council.

About the Author(s)

P. Scott Shearer

Vice President, Bockorny Group, Inc.

Scott Shearer is vice president of the Bockorny Group Inc., a leading bipartisan government affairs consulting firm in Washington, D.C. With more than 30 years experience in government and corporate relations in state and national arenas, he is recognized as a leader in agricultural trade issues, having served as co-chairman of the Agricultural Coalition for U.S.-China Trade and co-chairman of the Agricultural Coalition for Trade Promotion Authority. Scott was instrumental in the passage of China Permanent Normal Trade Relations and TPA. He is past chairman of the USDA-USTR Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Animals and Animal Products and was a member of the USAID Food Security Advisory Committee. Prior to joining the Bockorny Group, Scott served as director of national relations for Farmland Industries Inc., as well as USDA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs (1993-96), serving as liaison for the Secretary of Agriculture and the USDA to Congress.

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