St. Lawrence County’s Congresswoman backing resolution to support family farms

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has cosponsored a bipartisan resolution recognizing the important role of the stepped-up basis to preserve family farms and small businesses in the face of the Biden Administration’s budget proposal, which suggests eliminating this tax provision for agricultural producers and small business owners. 

The stepped-up basis is a long-standing provision in the tax code that protects people from being forced to pay capital gains taxes on inherited assets such as land, equipment, or buildings, allowing recipients of such inherited assets to adjust their cost basis to reflect their fair market value. Joe Biden has proposed changes to this provision that would increase the tax and devastate a generational change in family farms or family-owned small businesses. 

“Our family farms and small businesses are essential to communities in Upstate New York and the North Country,” Stefanik said. “Repealing this critical provision would be devastating to keeping farms and small businesses in the family. I will continue to stand up for our farmers and small businesses against taxes and regulations.” 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 96% of farms in New York State are family-owned. If the stepped-up basis is eliminated, 66% of all mid-sized farms would see an increased tax liability. 

Specifically, this legislation: 

Supports the preservation of the stepped-up basis;

Opposes any efforts to impose new taxes on family farms or small businesses; and

Recognizes the importance of generational transfers of farm and small business operations.