Relief from high inheritance taxes expires at the end of December, 2012. In the article “A Storm of Estate Taxes Threatens Farm Country,” Lynne Finnerty says that the new estate tax exemption will drop to one million dollars and the tax rate will increase to fifty-five percent (Finnerty). Lowering the estate tax exemption while increasing the rate may consequently cause the liquidation of many multigenerational family farms and an ultimate decrease in the world’s food supply. Comprehending the effect of estate taxes on farm families requires a general understanding of farm economics. In Illinois, for example, there are 76,000 farms and more than 28 million acres of farm land. Therefore, the average farm size is 368 acres, including …show more content…
In “Kill the Death Tax,” the author states, “The estate tax falls hardest on those who maintain a family business or farm. When the cost exceeds cash assets, the estate tax can force family business owners and farmers to sell in order to pay the tax” (“Kill the Death Tax”). Unfortunately, there are journalists and politicians who attempt to convince the American public that this problem does not exist. Senator Bernie Sanders writes in “Tax Code Must Stop Coddling the Rich,” “Some Republicans argue that eliminating the estate tax would save family farms and small businesses. Not true, though this argument has been tried before” (Sanders). A simple analysis of farm economics proves that Senator Sanders is misleading the American public. In 2012, a 368-acre farm inheritance in Illinois would create an estate tax bill of $623,920. The same farm planted to corn, has the potential to generate an income of $17,664, which is obviously not enough cash to pay the tax. Therefore, the only solution may be to sell part of the farm ground in order to pay the tax, which could hinder the viability of the farming operation. In addition to bankrupting family farms, the mere existence of the death tax is unfair. Assets that are liable to estate taxes involve money that is being taxed for the second and sometimes third times. “It taxes assets which have already been subject to the federal payroll, income and/or capital gains
By the late 1800s, America was transitioning from an economy based on agriculture to one based on industry. Although this transformation made the United Stated richer and more powerful than it had ever been before, it caused farmers to face numerous problems to which they found themselves unable to successfully overcome. Even though many farmers moved into the industrial workforce, the ones who wished to continue agricultural work faced problems such as overproduction and tariff policies. Also, the farmers lost their political power due to the decreased focus on agriculture.
The current tax policy in the United States is very confusing and it is very costly for our government to administer it. It is in the best interest of our country and its citizens to revise or replace our current tax policy.
Agricultural subsidies is a very complex and controversial economic topic today. It will continue to be a hot topic as government continues it. It is largely debated in the United States as well as in other countries. The reason it is so largely debated is because it literally have an effect on the entire world market. Not to mention that the farm has been booming the last 5 to 10 years. This topic also tends to draw strong opinions in our area in particular due to the large agricultural community in our region. However, even within different states there are many supporters as well as opponents to these government subsidies.
As a person that has grown most of my own food, without chemicals or engine powered equipment, for the last 15 years and lesser so for many more years I can relate to some degree what it may have been like for a farmer in the 1800’s (I even live in a house built in 1850).
America — a land known for its ideals of freedom and new opportunities, a nation built under the idea that every man and women is created equal. However, the definition of what makes a person an American is entirely different from what it is that makes up America, itself. J.Hector St. John Crevecoeur, author of Letters from an American Farmer (1782), exposes what he believes makes an American. However, when compared to the standards of what makes an American in today’s world, it seems that becoming an American then was much simpler then, than it is today. The definition of an American is always evolving due to the influences of our changing nation. During a simpler time, Crevecoeur defined an American as someone of European
Here in massachusetts the farmers are rising in protest to the rising state taxes. They have taken control of the courthouses to stop them from foreclosing the farms due to insufficient tax payments. This is increasingly concerning due to the fact that the national government does not seem to be doing anything about this unfair tax.
In the United States, the top one percent received about 20 percent of the overall income for 2016. This creates an uneven distribution of income causing Americans to argue about whether or not the wealthy should pay more in federal income taxes. One side of the argument is that the wealthy make a huge portion of the nation’s income; therefore, they should have higher tax rates. The other side argues that wealthy Americans already pay their fair share of taxes by paying nearly 40 percent and should not be forced to pay more. These arguments both use compelling evidence to make their claims; however, a solution could be reached by increasing the tax rate of the top one percent by only 10 to 20 percent.
People do not enjoy talking about taxes because they are too political, confusing, and depressing. It is no secret that the American tax code is a mess and something many economists describe as too broken to fix. Despite this, politicians have never stopped from trying to “fix” the code, yet they have had very little success. The U.S. Government’s tax code currently comprises “more than 67,000 pages of complexities” (Boortz, Linder, & Woodall 14). The Americans for Fair Taxation (AFFT) was founded in 1995 with one goal: create the simplest and best tax reform plan that would work in the modern market and economy. The AFFT’s best solution was a bill which they promptly called the FairTax.
Small family farmers were driven off of their property by large farm industries. They generally did not own enough property to qualify for financial aid. But shouldn’t financial aid help the disadvantaged families? With a limited abundance of land and money, family farms were taken over by large farm
When a person dies, filing final tax returns becomes mandatory for the executor of the estate. The executor must file a final federal income tax return and a final state income tax return (if required) reporting all income earned by the decedent in the final year of life up until the day of death. Furthermore, even if the executor hires a tax professional to file the final tax returns, the executor must know how to prepare the information needed by the tax professional. Otherwise, the tax professional will charge the estate a substantial amount to handle the preparation as well as the filing of the final tax returns.
Growing up on a small family wheat farm in southwestern Oklahoma, I have experienced the harsh conditions of farming firsthand. The job that used to employ the largest amount of people in the United States has lost the support and the respect of the American people. The Jeffersonian Ideal of a nation of farmers has been tossed aside to be replaced by a nation of white-collar workers. The family farm is under attack and it is not being protected. The family farm can help the United States economically by creating jobs in a time when many cannot afford the food in the stores. The family farm can help prevent the degradation of the environment by creating a mutually beneficial relationship between the people producing the food and nature. The family farm is the answer to many of the tough questions facing the United States today, but these small farms are going bankrupt all too often. The government’s policy on farming is the largest factor in what farms succeed, but simple economics, large corporations, and society as a whole influence the decline in family farms; small changes in these areas will help break up the huge corporate farms, keeping the small family farm afloat.
Life on the farm in the 1930’s was a thing that most people liked to learn more about and Henry was the person to live out the farm life. The author of this passage was showing the feelings and emotions of Henry by adding a character that would help show Henry's feelings. This person was a Historian from Columbia, South Carolina who was writing a paper about the farm life in South Carolina and Henry was an excellent person to interview because he had many feelings and thoughts about the farm life that he loved to share with the Historian. The author reveals Henry's feelings about his life on the farm by Henry's actions, words, and his attitude toward his life on the farm. Henry's actions showed a lot about his feeling for many reasons and the author can help reveal that throughout the story.
Controversy will always follow humans where ever we go. Humans have argued over many issues for centuries, often times with no conclusion or “correct” answer ever in sight. One common issue that has been debated since the early 1900s is whether or not the more wealthy individuals in a society should be taxed more heavily than their poorer counterparts. Many have argued over the pros and cons of the taxation of richer people, but when one looks at it objectively, the pros far outweigh the cons. Not only do the pros outweigh the cons, but a question one must ask oneself is whether or not prosperous people really need that extra money? Richer people should be taxed higher because it is better for the economy, social classes will
In place for over one-hundred years now, the estate tax was put into place to do more than just finance World War I. In 1916, there were extremely wealthy families, such as the Vanderbilt’s and the Carnegie’s, that dominated industries and held a large portion of the nation’s wealth. The estate tax was proposed to curb massive amounts of inter-generational wealth that was