Summer 2018 - Farm Tax and Farm Business Education

Overview

Next June, Washburn University School of Law will be sponsoring a two-day seminar in Pennsylvania on farm income tax and farm estate and business planning.  I will be one of speakers at the event as will Paul Neiffer, the author of the Farm CPA Today blog.  Paul and I have done numerous events together over the past few years and I thoroughly enjoy working with Paul.  The K-State Department of Agricultural Economics will be co-sponsoring the event, and we are looking forward to working with the Pennsylvania Society of CPAs and Farm Credit East.  The seminar dates will be June 7-8 and the location, while not set at the present time, will be within a couple of hours of Harrisburg, PA.  

Partnerships

Our two-day event will precede the 2018 conference in Harrisburg of the National Association of Farm Business Analysis Specialists (NAFBAS) and the National Farm and Ranch Business Management Education Association, Inc. (NFRBMEA) which begins on June 10.  We are looking forward to partnering with the two groups to provide technical and practical tax information in an applied manner that the attendees to the NAFBAS/NFRBMEA conference will find to be a beneficial supplement to their conference.  Accordingly, we are planning the agenda to supplement the information that will be provided at the NAFBAS/NFRBMEA conference.

Agenda

We will follow our traditional two-day seminar approach with farm income tax information on Day 1 and farm estate and business planning topics on Day 2.  On Day 1, we will provide an update on recent cases and rulings.  Of course, if there is new tax legislation, we will cover its application to various client situations.  We will also provide farm income averaging planning strategies, farm financial distress tax planning issues, self-employment tax and how to structure leases and entities.  Also on Day 1, we will explain how to handle indirect production costs and the application of the repair/capitalization regulations.  In addition, we will explain the proper handling of farm losses and planning opportunities with farming C corporations. 

On Friday, Day 2, we will cover the most recent developments in farm estate and business planning.  Of course, if there is legislation enacted that impacts the transfer tax system, we will cover it in detail.  We will also have a session on applicable tax planning strategies for the retiring farmer, and ownership transition strategies.  Also discussed on Day 2 will be the procedures and tax planning associated with incorporating the farm business tax-free.  We will also get into long-term health care planning, how best to structure the farming business to take maximum advantage of farm program payments, special use valuation as well as installment payment of federal estate tax.  Those handling fiduciary returns will also find our session on trust and estate taxation and associated planning opportunities to be of great benefit.

Other Seminars

Mark your calendars now for the June7-8 seminar in PA.  If flying, depending on the location we settle on, flights into either Pittsburgh, Philadelphia or Baltimore will be relatively close.  Be watching www.washburnlaw.edu/waltr for further details as the weeks go by.  Until then, upcoming tax seminars will find me next week in North Dakota, and then Kansas in the following two weeks.  In early December, I will be leading-off the Iowa Bar’s Bloethe Tax School in Des Moines with a federal tax update.  I have also heard from numerous Iowans that will be attending tax school in Overland Park in late November, and I am looking forward to seeing you there along with the other attendees.  Next week’s seminar from Fargo will be simulcast over the web in case you can’t attend in-person.  Also, the seminar from Pittsburg, KS will be simulcast over the web.  In addition, there will be a 2-hour ethics seminar/webinar on Dec. 15.  Be watching my CPE calendar on www.washburnlaw.edu/waltr for more details. 

New Book

I have a new book out, published by West Academic – “Agricultural Law in a Nutshell.”  Here’s the link to more information about the book and how to order.  http://washburnlaw.edu/practicalexperience/agriculturallaw/waltr/agriculturallawnutshell/index.html  If you are involved in agriculture or just like to read up on legal issues involving those involved in agricultural production or agribusiness, the book would make a great stocking-stuffer.  If you are teaching or taking an agricultural law class in the spring semester of 2018, this is a “must have” book.

Conclusion

There are always plenty of legal issues to write about and current developments to keep up on.  Readers of this blog are well aware of that fact.