Buckeye Farm News

Ohio’s Estate Tax

Jan. 1 brought an end to Ohio’s estate tax. Ohio Farm Bureau opposed the tax because it placed a burden on farm families, whose money is often tied up in land, equipment and buildings. To settle an estate, farmers could be forced to sell some of these assets, threatening the viability of their business.

“We have led a number of grassroots efforts to eliminate Ohio’s estate tax over the years, but the final push that helped get it done was a rally with more than 400 Farm Bureau members and legislators held during the 2011 Ag Day at the Capitol.”  ~Doug Foxx, Ohio Farm Bureau director of political education

Federal Estate Tax

At the national level, Farm Bureau members have been seeking long-term estate tax reform for more than two decades. The recently passed  American Taxpayer Relief Act made estate tax rates and exemptions permanent. The act set the exemption at $5 million per person, indexed for inflation.

“Farm Bureau members will be able to focus more energy on other issues important to them now that federal estate tax policy has been made permanent law and indexed for inflation. Farmers also will be able to effectively prepare for the future and pass along their farms from one generation to the next.”  ~Yvonne Lesicko, Ohio Farm Bureau senior director of legislative and regulatory policy

Photo by Seth Teter