Feenstra

Family farms, small businesses, and local manufacturers are the backbone of Iowa’s economy. Agriculture, business, and manufacturing create good jobs in our communities, keep our main streets strong, and help young families plant their roots in Iowa. To ensure that we have a strong Iowa, we need to support these vital sectors that make invaluable contributions to our economy and our communities.

One of the greatest threats to the long-term success and vitality of family farms and small businesses is the death tax. This unfair double tax forces family-owned-and-operated enterprises to pay a massive tax bill to the federal government when a loved one passes away. During a time of grief, Uncle Sam should not be sending families, farmers, and small business owners a tax bill. It’s costly and wrong.

As part of President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts, I included my bill to increase the death tax exemption to $15 million so that farmers and entrepreneurs don’t need to sell their farm or business that they worked for generations to build just to pay a huge tax bill from the federal government. Most of the time, farmers and business owners’ assets — like farmland, equipment, and physical infrastructure — cannot be easily liquidated, which makes the death tax even more egregious. We want our farmland and our businesses on Main Street to be passed down to the next generation so that we can protect our proud traditions in Iowa. We certainly don’t want our farmland to fall into the hands of China or other foreign adversaries, and we don’t want businesses that have been in the family for generations to close their doors because of the punitive death tax. Fortunately, with my legislation included in President Trump’s package of tax cuts for working families, farmers and small business owners have some more breathing room in their budgets, ensuring that the next generation can afford to carry on historic legacies.

President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts also included many positive provisions for agriculture, business, and manufacturing. For agriculture, we strengthened crop insurance, invested in foreign animal disease prevention and response, and increased reference prices for corn from $3.70 to $4.10 and for soybeans from $8.40 to $10.00. For small businesses, we made the 20% deduction on qualified business income permanent and helped them offer paid family and medical leave to their employees at a more affordable price, which was legislation that I led. For manufacturing, we made investing in their operations more attractive by restoring 100% bonus depreciation and immediate R&D expensing. To onshore more manufacturing in Iowa, we also created a new category of immediate expensing to encourage the construction of U.S.-based manufacturing plants and agricultural facilities. These provisions will truly be jet fuel for our economy, create jobs, and deliver bigger paychecks for families and workers.

Born and raised in rural Iowa, I want our communities to thrive. That means supporting agriculture, small businesses, and manufacturing and passing policies that encourage economic growth and development. From delivering additional relief from the death tax to investing in our small businesses on Main Street, we will build a stronger and more prosperous Iowa.

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Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, represents Iowa’s Fourth District in the U.S. House.