Governor's tax plan would harm rural Iowa, young farmers

[TexasTowelie]

Governor Kim Reynolds wants to exempt all cash rent income for retired farmers from state income tax. This horrible idea would harm rural Iowa and make it even harder for young people to break into the profession of farming.

Iowa already has a problem with an aging population of farm operators. According to the USDA’s 2021 census of agriculture, the average age of farmers in Iowa is 57.1 years. Four times as many farmers are over the age of 65 than under the age of 35. In other words, we don’t have a new generation of farmers to replace the ones already retired.

Why would we want a tax policy that would worsen the problem?

The governor’s proposal would allow any farmer over age 55 to exempt income from cash rent of farmland as well as capital gains from land sales. Let’s say our 55-year-old farmer went out on his own in 1994, at the age of 27.

I use “his” intentionally; women are still underrepresented in agriculture, and 30 years ago even more so. (Even now, when the USDA wants to communicate information about land that’s held solely in my name, the addressee is always my husband. That’s a discussion for another day, though.)

Read more: https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/01/29/governors-tax-plan-would-harm-rural-iowa-young-farmers/

[madaboutharry]

1. Don't expect a moron like Kim Reynolds to understand any of this.

Reynolds is an "I hate taxes and government" libertarian. She lives in a bubble that exists only in her own empty head.