Agricultural News
One of the Big Five Beef Stories of 2010- The GOP-Obama Tax Deal Delivers Estate Tax Reform
Thu, 30 Dec 2010 6:45:52 CST
One of the Big Beef stories of 2010 was one that came together in a most improbable way. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association has been talking about the need to fix the so called Death tax for more than a decade. About ten years ago- we saw Congress pass relief for the Estate Tax that phased out federal estate taxes through the year 2009- eliminated them in 2010- but allowed them to return with a vengeance in 2011 with just a million dollar exemption and a very high 55% tax rate on everything about that.
The improbable way happened as the hour approached midnight on the year of no taxes on the death of a loved one. The GOP victory in November brought President Obama to the table- and he cut a deal with GOP Leadership on a variety of Bush tax cuts that were set to expire on December 31st- and the package included strong language that brought smiles to many who have worked on this issue over the last decade within the agricultural community.
The Estate Tax part of the Obama-GOP plan includes a five million dollar exemption per person with a 35% tax rate on anything above that level. That's considered adequate to cover most farms and ranches that producers want to pass along to their heirs. These numbers line up with the proposal that has been championed for a year or longer by Senators Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona and Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas- who is a lame duck after losing her bid for reelection last month.
We reported on this earlier in the month of December- and we spotlight the passage of this two year "fix" for the estate tax as one of the Big Beef Stories for 2010 on today's beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the state on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the listen bar below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...