Estate Taxes & Farming
2021-04-15 17:43:53.820816+02 by Dan Lyke 0 comments
Farming is a capital system, as evidenced by the need in farming for the migrant cheap labor that our current immigration system provides; a work force where the threat of deportation is used to bypass worker protections.
Often, despite this, the estate tax is attacked as "but what about the poor family farmer?"
Legislation enacted over the last several years has greatly reduced the Federal estate tax by increasing the exemption amount from $675,000 in 2000 to $11.58 million in 2020. Under the present law, the estate of a person who owns assets above the exemption amount at death must file a Federal estate tax return. However, only returns that have an estate above the exemption after deductions for expenses, debts, and bequests to a surviving spouse or charity are subject to tax at a rate of 40 percent.
(Obviously, if you've got a $50M farm you're gonna have that structured in a way that lets you move value to your heirs earlier than death...)