The Preserving Family Farm Act recently introduced in the U.S. House is getting the backing of the American Farm Bureau. The measure provides estate tax relief by making sure more farm families can continue operating their farm after the death of a loved one. South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal says the current estate tax exemption is just over $ 5 million which helps many people but that’s set to go away in the short term, so this measure is needed.
He says eventually his group’s members want to see the estate tax completely eliminated. VanderWal says getting that done however is a bit of an uphill battle.
VanderWal is hopeful they can get enough backing to get the Preserving Family Farm Act passed in both chambers and signed by the President.
The Preserving Family Farm Act modernizes the special use valuation provision of the estate tax. That valuation allows the property to be appraised as farmland rather than its development value when determining estate taxes.
