Recently introduced in the Senate, the Farm Bureau-backed Death Tax Repeal Act of 2019 (S. 215) would give farmers, ranchers and others permanent relief from the estate tax.

The current temporary increase in the estate tax exemption to $11 million per person indexed for inflation, along with the continued stepped-up basis and portability between spouses, has allowed many farmers and ranchers to spend money on growing their businesses, upgrading buildings and purchasing needed equipment and livestock, rather than on life insurance and estate planning, AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a Jan. 25 letter to Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the bill’s sponsor.

“More importantly, when a family member dies, the family can continue farming without having to sell land, livestock or equipment to pay the tax,” Duvall said.