Family Business Coalition Statement – Tax Relief for Rural America

The Working Families Tax Cuts delivered historic tax relief for family businesses, farms, and
ranches across the country. By shielding the majority of family businesses from the destructive
death tax, the law helps ensure that hardworking families can pass their businesses on to the next
generation of leadership. The increased estate tax exemption provides long-term certainty for
family-owned operations that form the backbone of many local economies. By making these
provisions permanent, the law also reduces the need for costly and time-consuming estate
planning, allowing business owners to focus their resources where they matter most: expanding
their operations, innovating for the future, and creating more good-paying jobs.

Many of the businesses supporting death tax repeal are multigenerational family operations like
farms, ranches, and locally owned businesses that have been built over decades. These families
are not sitting on large amounts of liquid wealth. Instead, their value is tied up in land,
equipment, livestock, storefronts, or inventory. Because death taxes are assessed on the total
value of those assets when an owner passes away, the next generation can face a large tax bill
despite having very little cash on hand. This can force families to sell off farmland, equipment,
or parts of the business just to pay the tax, putting the future of the operation at risk.

The nearly 200 undersigned industry associations joined an FBC led coalition letter in support of
the Death Tax Repeal Act, led by Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) and Congressman
Feenstra (R-IA) which reached 182 cosponsors in the House and 47 in the Senate. President
Trump and Congressional Republicans deserve credit for listening to the overwhelming support
amongst the conference and small business stakeholders for death tax relief. FBC commends you
for passing the Working Families Tax Cuts which effectively eliminates the death tax for the
majority of America’s family-owned businesses.

Organizations supporting the Death Tax Repeal Act include: