The GOP tax bill deal now headed for likely floor votes early next week looks good for agriculture, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s tax specialist Pat Wolff. She is waiting to look at the final bill text, about to be filed. However, so far, Wolff says the bill looks good for producers—starting with an across-the-board cut in individual rates, and relief for ‘pass-through’ small businesses, which most farms are.

The Senate-passed bill called for 23-percent. The House used a different formula.

She says the final bill also includes bonus depreciation for new equipment and expensing.

Final details for Section 179 expensing for new and used equipment were less clear, as was a final deal on estate tax relief.
The House bill would have ended estate taxes by 2024.

Wolff says unless there’s some “rapid departure” from what’s already been proposed, the final product will be “a good bill for farmers and ranchers,” leaving them more money to “reinvest and grow their business.”