Potential tax law changes could doom some multigenerational farms.
Farmers National Company senior vice president Randy Dickhut says it’s all speculation for now, but if the Biden administration does away with stepped up basis or reduces the estate tax exemption, it would likely bring about the sale of more land.
He points to Canada, where there is no estate tax but are capital gains taxes upon death.
“You pass away and the value of your land increase over what you bought it or inherited it for is going to be taxed, so farmers who retire in Canada are a little more likely to sell their land (according) to what we saw in our work there.”
That’s because those farmers either don’t want to pay the tax or can’t afford to.
