Salazar introduces bill to maintain family farms

MONTROSE — U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa, introduced a bill last week to exempt family farms from the estate tax.

“As a farmer and a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I understand the bitter reality of the estate tax,” Salazar said in a press release. “This bill will counter the estate tax by offering an incentive for farmers to keep the farm in the family, which in turn benefits our country by sustaining the land and the environment by reducing urban development.”

Salazar and U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Florida, introduced the Save the Family Farm and Ranch Act of 2007 on Thursday.

Tax laws from 2006 through 2008 permit a $2 exemption on inherited estates. Assets more than $2 million are taxed 45 percent. This leads many family farmers to sell their land because they don’t have the cash necessary to pay the estate tax, according to the press release.

This bill would provide exemption to those receiving more than 50 percent of their gross income from their family farm or ranch operation. Through definitions of farmland from the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, this bill would help actual farmers and ranchers and not big business developers, according to the press release.

“The Congressman thinks it’s vital that America produces its own food,” Salazar spokeswoman Tara Trujillo said.

She said he believes depending on other countries for food could become a national security issue.