July 20, 2021

Dear friend,

I want to share with you my op-ed, carried by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, that highlights the most dangerous aspects of President Joe Biden’s tax proposals, specifically his super-charged death tax that would force American agriculture producers to sell their family farms.

Read the full op-ed below or click here.

As part of his never-ending quest to redistribute wealth and replace our freedoms with government control, President Biden has unveiled an unprecedented expansion of government that would cripple the U.S. economy and permanently bankrupt our nation.

His plan to “pay” for this spending bonanza shouldn’t surprise anyone – higher taxes on just about everyone and everything. President Biden’s tax hikes would hammer U.S. companies of all sizes, driving American jobs overseas and surrendering economic dominance to the likes of China. 

Experts project 70 percent of President Biden’s tax increases will impact working families in the form of higher consumer prices and lower wages. His plan also punishes oil and gas producers by taking away ordinary and necessary business expense deductions which would mortally wound small, independent producers – further increasing the prices we pay at the pump.

But worst of all, President Biden’s plan to pay for his Green New Deal and new “entitlement state” includes a devastating death tax that would force families to sell their multigenerational farms, ranches, and small businesses. 

President Biden’s proposal allows death tax exemptions for smaller operations to expire and imposes a new, two-fold capital gains tax at death. As if that weren’t enough – the capital gains tax rate will no longer be limited to the appreciation from when a property is inherited and sold; instead, it will be applied to the entire life of the land and asset value over generations. In many cases, next-generation producers will have to pay taxes on the increased value of family assets from more than 100 years ago.

Many Americans think capital gains taxes are mainly paid on profits from stock trades and investments, but it’s important to remember that the capital gains tax hike will harm those who inherit property and their family business.

This big tax burden would hit agriculture producers and small business owners after paying a lifetime’s worth of property taxes, payroll taxes, sales taxes, and income taxes – making the death tax the most unfair and un-American provision in the tax code.

The result of this new, supercharged death tax will be the largest scale liquidation of family farming and ranching operations in the history of our country. Families will be forced to, in many cases, literally “sell the farm” just to pay for the massive tax bill, compliments of President Biden’s record government growth and spending plan.

Our district is home to 15 million acres of farmland, making us the number one agricultural district in Texas. Here, 93 percent of farms and ranches are family-owned, leaving their children to shoulder the burden of these taxes.

Our young farmers are worried they’re going to be the first generation to lose their family farms with the stroke of a pen. Older farmers now wonder if their children and grandchildren will be able to afford the taxes to keep their land and preserve their heritage and livelihoods.

For the past five years, as the proud representative from the “Food, Fuel, and Fiber Capital of the World,” I’ve been relentlessly reminding our nation’s lawmakers of the invaluable contributions of agriculture, energy, and rural communities. It’s clear this punitive tax provision to double the Death Tax is their single biggest threat. We cannot allow Washington to use our farmers and family business owners as “pay-fors” for their socialist Green New Deal and endless expansion of government.

As your voice in our nation’s capital and a member of the Ways and Means Committee, I am unwaveringly committed to fighting all of President Biden’s destructive tax and spend policies in Congress. By holding the line against President Biden’s radical agenda, we can preserve a prosperous future for generations of West Texas farmers, ranchers, and energy producers as well as food security and energy independence for all Americans.   

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Your friend and fellow West Texan,

Jodey C. Arrington
Member of Congress