PREPARING YOUR FARM FOR TAX DOOMSDAY
It has begun. Nervous clients, including farmers and others, have started calling with growing concern about what can only be described as nightmarish changes to federal tax laws. Changes being discussed are a extreme reduction of the current federal estate/gift tax exemption, elimination of step up in basis, elimination of Section 1031 like-kind-exchanges, as well as other drastic changes being proposed by the new administration. Before delving into the subject matter in more detail, people should remember the immortal words of Yogi Berra when he said, “it’s like déjà vu all over again”, and look back on December 31, 2012. When the clock was to strike midnight, we were not going to see Cinderella’s carriage turn back into a pumpkin, but the federal gift and estate tax exemption was to plummet from $5.12 million per person all the way to $1 million per person. Prior to that, taxpayers had enjoyed the ability to pass up to $5.12 mill