[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 11 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S281-S282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX REFORM

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I would like to speak about a tax issue. 
It was nearly 3 weeks ago that the President signed into law the Tax 
Cuts and Jobs Act. It is the most sweeping reform of our Tax Code in 
more than three decades. This tax reform provides both tax 
simplification and tax cuts for the vast majority of taxpayers.
  Importantly, the tax reform bill made good on its commitment to 
provide real relief to small business owners, and that also includes 
family farmers and ranchers. As one of only three Republican Senators 
on both the Finance Committee and the Agriculture Committee, it was a 
priority of mine to represent agriculture and the family farm 
institution throughout the tax reform debate.
  Fair treatment for farmers under tax reform was especially important 
to me, given the large role agriculture plays in the economy of the 
State of Iowa. Ag accounts for one out of every five jobs in the State 
and makes up 33 percent of Iowa's economy. The tax reform bill provided 
a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make real and long-lasting 
reforms for farmers, ranchers, and every American working in our 
agricultural industry.
  Broadly speaking, across the board, rate reductions will let 
Americans keep more of their own money. This will afford farmers the 
opportunity to reinvest in their operations instead of sending that 
financial capital to politicians in Washington.
  Tax reform legislation expands section 179 of the Tax Code, which 
helps farmers finance overhead costs. It enables farmers to deduct more 
expenses in the year they occurred and also expands the availability of 
cash accounting to more farmers in Iowa and throughout the country. 
These provisions will allow farmers to invest in the equipment 
necessary to do the job of feeding the Nation and the world.
  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowers taxes on capital investment and 
includes a business income deduction, which will help level the playing 
field between farms that file as corporations and those that file as 
individuals. More than 94 percent of farms are taxed under the IRS 
provisions affecting individual taxpayers. The bulk of agriculture 
producers who operate outside the corporate tax code deserve basic 
fairness. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act makes sure that those taxed under 
the individual and corporate tax codes are treated with more equity.
  One of the most frequently discussed issues in tax reform discussion 
is the estate tax, which can force family farms to break up operations 
to pay the IRS following the death of family members. That doesn't 
happen at the death of a lot of farmers, but in a few cases it does, 
and it seems to me to be very unfair to break up a farming operation to 
pay as a result of the consequence of death. I support a full repeal of 
this unfair tax, but was pleased that in this tax reform legislation we 
were able to make significant progress in alleviating its burden on 
family farmers by doubling the estate tax exemption. This substantial 
change would let more family farmers pass their hard-earned life's work 
on to their children, paving the way for the next generation of family 
farmers.
  According to the Iowa Farm Bureau, given the price of farmland, about 
30 percent of crop farms in Iowa exceeded the $5 million estate tax 
exemption in 2016, based on land values. The doubling of the exemption 
amount will go a long way toward alleviating the nightmare that is the 
death tax for many Iowa farmers.
  I have long advocated for commonsense tax relief measures because 
they will help Iowa and the Midwest and will make life easier for 
middle-class Americans.
  Farmers' hard work provides the healthy and affordable food that we 
so often take for granted. We should do everything in our power to 
support that segment of our economy and create an environment where 
these small

[[Page S282]]

businesses and hard-working families can thrive and prosper. That is 
what tax reform will do for farmers, for Iowans, and for all Americans. 
Whether they are middle-class farmers or middle-class nonfarmers, all 
will benefit from other provisions of the tax bill, such as doubling 
the standard deduction, doubling the child tax credit, reducing the 15-
percent bracket to 12, reducing the 25-percent bracket to 22, and there 
are a lot of other features in this bill to benefit not only farmers 
but also other middle-class families.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.

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