[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 53 (Thursday, March 23, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H1332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        SUPPORTING THE FARM BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Mann) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, as Congress works to reauthorize the farm 
bill, I rise today to deliver the 17th installment of my farm bill 
impact series, where I am highlighting various aspects of the 
legislation that deserve Congress' awareness and support.
  The farm bill won't ever be effective, though, if the stepped-up 
basis is eliminated and if producers get saddled with unjust capital 
gains taxes.
  Sadly, that is exactly what President Biden's budget proposal does. 
It works to eliminate the stepped-up basis and impose capital gains 
taxes on assets that have been held in family trust or ownership for 
over 90 years. This is the farm killer tax.
  Here is why the stepped-up basis is so important. Let's say you are a 
young person working on your family farm, and you are slowly taking on 
responsibility and risk. You work for your parents until the time comes 
for you to take over the land, equipment, and livestock. When that 
happens, the Federal Government should not jump in and impose taxes on 
the unrealized gains of these inherited assets.
  This principle is called the stepped-up basis and has a long 
precedent in the tax code with tons of bipartisan support.
  The President's budget, however, works to eliminate this, which would 
destroy family farms overnight. The day-to-day trials of operating a 
successful farm, ranch, or small business are challenging enough 
without worrying about paying devastating capital gains taxes, and now 
the Biden administration wants to impose new taxes on these people.
  Unbelievably, it gets even worse when dismantling the stepped-up 
basis. President Biden's budget proposal also includes the farm killer 
tax. In President Biden's budget proposal, there is a plan to impose 
capital gains taxes on farms that have been in the family for over 90 
years.
  Think about that. In 1940, the average cost of Kansas farmland was 
$50 an acre. Now, irrigated land is as much as $4,000 per acre.
  Imagine the capital gains tax implications on that history of 
ownership. This proposal would propose hundreds of thousands of dollars 
in new capital gains taxes on agriculture producers, destroying their 
livelihoods.
  Mr. Speaker, 98 percent of all American farms and 90 percent of all 
American small businesses are family owned and operated. A budget 
proposal that eliminates the stepped-up basis and imposes the farm 
killer tax is not a game changer for American family businesses. It is 
a game ender.
  Agriculture is a multigenerational calling. This is National Ag Week 
when we celebrate the tireless efforts of farmers, ranchers, and 
producers who have earned our support. President Biden's budget 
proposal is the opposite of support. It is a gut punch to the people 
who feed, fuel, and clothe us all.
  This week, I introduced a bipartisan resolution with more than 60 of 
my colleagues who support the preservation of the stepped-up basis, 
oppose any efforts to impose new taxes on family farms and small 
businesses, and recognize the importance of generational transfers of 
farm and small business operations. I encourage all of my colleagues in 
this body to support it.
  If we want to invest in the future of our country, we need to invest 
in the future leaders of American agriculture. Congress must preserve 
the stepped-up basis and oppose the farm killer tax.
  I will be back on the floor soon to deliver another installment of my 
farm bill impact series and highlight more programs and titles within 
the bill that I believe Congress must understand and support to ensure 
that agriculture thrives in America. The people who feed, fuel, and 
clothe us all deserve our unwavering support.

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