Trump’s biggest tax cut in US history thrills meat sector

27-Apr-2017 - Last updated on 28-Apr-2017 at 09:13 GMT

Cattlemen praised Trump's move to reform taxes, especially plans to repeal death duty

The US government plans to cut taxes for big and small businesses in the largest reform since the Reagan era – and the meat industry is pleased that the death tax will be repealed.

Donald Trump dropped a bombshell yesterday – not an actual one, but figuratively speaking, it was explosive. Top officials in the Trump administration published proposals for a comprehensive tax reform, dubbed the ‘biggest tax cut in US history’.

Among a huge host of changes designed to simplify the tax system, are plans to repeal the estate tax, known to opponents as the death tax.

“Permanent repeal of the death tax has been a priority for cattlemen and women for decades,” said Danielle Beck, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) director of government affairs.

“Since the death tax was implemented nearly a century ago, it has not only failed to meet the misguided goals set by Congress, but has threatened the existence of many multi-generational farms and ranches.”

The estate tax is a tax on the right of someone to transfer property to another after his or her death. The agriculture industry has argued for years that the taxation unfairly burdens farmers by forcing them to sell assets to keep the business going.

“The death tax is clearly on the administration’s radar and for that we are appreciative,” said Beck. “NCBA will assist the administration however we can as they work to put together a comprehensive tax reform package.”

The announcement from Donald Trump to overhaul the US tax system came soon after the President signed an executive order to promote agricultural and rural prosperity in the US.

The executive order will see the creation of a taskforce set up to analyse regulatory issues that could impact agriculture for good and bad.

“We are appreciative for President Trump making agriculture a high priority right out of the gate,” said NCBA president Craig Uden. “With Secretary Perdue in office and the establishment of this task force, we are in a strong position moving forward to develop policy that will bolster our rural economy rather than the continuous over-regulation we have recently faced.”

Uden said the executive order would also call for a review of the Antiquities Act, something the beef body has been pushing for.

“The executive order is an important first step to reining in past designations that were pushed through without local input,” said Uden.