From staff reports Kent Bacus, executive director of affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, discussed the possibility of some tax po licies being discontinued by the end of 2025.
Enacted by the Trump administration in 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act benefits most farm and ranch businesses, allowing them to build their operations and stimulate the agricultural economy. The Tax Reform Act is set to expire at the end of 2025 if no thing is done to pr eserve it.
At the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting, held in San Diego earlier this month, Bacus said, “There is a tremendous knowledge gap on Capitol Hill. If you look at the members of Congress and Senators who were not elected the last time, they had to g o through this big tax reform push. It just goes to show you that there is a big know ledge gap there.”
Bacus added that organizations like the NCBA must educate political leaders on the importance of the tax code, such as the estate tax, capital gains, 199A, gross depreciation and Section 178 expensing for farmers and ranchers.
Expired tax cuts co uld be detrimental to the a gricultural industry, affecting rural employment, rural economies and family- owned small businesses.
“We can’t take for granted the fact that we can enjoy this now,” Bacus remarked. “Because at the end of next year, it could be gone. So, we have to engage, but it’s not just that. We have a roughly $35 trillion national debt, and we have to find some way to pay that down, too. We’ve advocated very strongly, that we don’t do that on the backs of small business owners.”
Bacus emphasized the importance of reduced spending and tax cuts.
“We have to do everything we can to help our elected officials understand that spending issues are definitely something that they need to address,” he said. “But when it comes to r evenue, we need those protections of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, so we can continue to employ people and have a strong economy that grows and circulates wealth and continues to offer opportunities to the next generation of America’s food producers. Without that, it is g oing to be a tremendous disadvantage.”