NCBA Asks Congress To Pass Permanent Estate Tax Relief

Members of the agricultural industry, in particular the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), sent letters to the United States Congress urging its members to consider passing permanent estate tax relief. With the expiration of the favorable estate tax exemption, the NCBA is asking Congress to act quickly to aid those farmers and other small business owners who will likely be unable to afford the estate tax. This forces farmers and ranchers to either sell their assets to pay the tax or set those aside assets for estate planning to avoid estate tax liability. Proponents of estate tax relief argue that these assets could be used for other purposes, such as investing within the family farm itself. The NCBA supports a complete repeal of the estate tax but is aware that the abolition of the estate tax is unlikely. Thus, the NCBA supports retaining the exemption at its current levels with the current estate tax rate.

See National Cattlemen's Beef Association, NCBA Urges Congress to Pass Permanent Estate Tax Relief, Drovers CattleNetwork, Nov. 13, 2012.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.