Such a mechanism will prevent the millions of dollars in ad hoc assistance payments that Congress provided to farmers over the last three years, allowing them to make better business decisions and protecting them from downturns in the economy. Congress is already moving ahead with President Bush s tax relief package. The House passed part of the president s tax plan on March 8. This portion of the tax relief plan is aimed at lowering all marginal tax rates to help stimulate the economy and provide more fairness to all taxpayers. The Senate will consider this legislation in the next few months.
Tax relief is extremely important for rural communities.
Putting people s money back into their own hands promotes investment and enhances value-added processing and production, which is especially important to agriculture. The president s plan will not only increase the disposable income of all families, which will strengthen the economy, it will also protect Medicare and Social Security while paying down our debt at the same time. The second component to the president s tax relief plan focuses on reducing the marriage penalty tax and eliminating the inheritance tax, also known as the death tax. This tax is one of the most immoral taxes because it hurts and sometimes ends the practice of family farms or small businesses from being passed from generation to generation. When a parent dies, it is up to the family to pay the taxes levied upon farm land and equipment.