Comments express concerns with proposed tax changes

Several agricultural groups and farmers have written comments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) urging that a proposed rule change for the taxable value of assets be amended to consider family farmers and ranchers.  The IRS plan for more restrictive rules for using valuation discounts would make it more difficult for farmers and ranchers who operate family-owned partnerships, LLCs or corporations to transfer their farms and ranches to the next generation.  Reportedly, of the nearly 9,500 comments on the proposed rule, 16% cite the potential negative impact on farmers as reason for opposition.  “A majority of a farm’s value comes from real estate, which, for farmers, is not viewed as a saleable asset," National Farmers Union (NFU) president Roger Johnson said. "We are concerned that the changes within the proposed regulation would deny essential discounts to family farms and significantly increase taxes on the transfer of family farms, threatening the ability to keep the operation intact."  NFU has long advocated for an effective estate tax with reasonable limitations, Johnson explained. The concern is that “the new proposed regulation will go as far as to deny family farmers essential discounts currently afforded through lawful provisions in the tax code,” he noted.