Today’s Harvest Blog

Today’s Harvest is a valued, timely resource for stories, news, tips and information relevant to Northeast agriculture and our customers.
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Latest From Today's Harvest Blog

Public Policy

2024 Farm Bill Update

Tom Cosgrove

The Farm Bill has been bogged down since the Fall while Congress has battled over funding the government. Given it’s an election year, Congressional leaders have acknowledged if the Farm Bill isn’t passed by mid-year, it will likely be extended for another year leaving it for the next Congress to complete. Several Farm Credit backed proposals have been introduced this Congress that would allow Farm Credit to lean into meeting the capital needs of rural America. The intent is for these “marker bills” to be included in the Farm Bill. Here is a summary of four of them.

April 9, 2024

Capital building with farm field background

Latest Tax Talk

Adult male farmer sitting on open trunkbed in a crop field using a laptop
Tax Talks
Life Insurance Redemptions Falling Under IRS Scrutiny

In the context of farming business structures, acquiring a life insurance policy is a prevalent practice. Here are two common scenarios and an update on an ongoing Supreme Court case involving the IRS concerning the valuation of businesses when insurance payouts are implicated and whether such proceeds are deemed liabilities or not.

April 11, 2024

Today's Harvest Blog

Tag: tax planning 
Woman farmer using a laptop in crop field in front of a tractor. Tax Talk logo in bottom righ corner.
Tax Talks
Tax rates are on the rise, are you prepared?

In November 2022, Massachusetts voters approved an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution to impose an additional 4% surtax on the portion of a taxpayer’s taxable income that exceeds $1 million. Shortly after, seven other states introduced their own legislation targeting high-income earners including Connecticut and New York. Here are the details to help your tax planning.

October 31, 2023

Woman farmer using a laptop in crop field in front of a tractor. Tax Talk logo in bottom righ corner.
Tax Talks
Defining Pass Through Entity Tax

In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs act was passed, putting a $10,000 limit on the amount of state and local tax that can be deducted on an individual's tax returns. For high income taxpayers that also pay a significant amount of property taxes, they quickly get to this $10,000 cap. For taxpayers who own pass thru entities such as partnerships and S-Corps, there is a potential way around this cap. This work around is called the Pass-Through Entity Tax.

September 29, 2023

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Tax Talks
Tax Legislation Update

The House Ways and Means Committee recently announced The American Families and Jobs Act, which includes three bills (H.R. 3936, H.R. 3937, and H.R. 3938) that could impact farmers.

July 06, 2023

Young woman working on a lap top computer standing in an agriculture field in front of a tractor. Tax Talk logo is in the lower right hand corner.
Tax Talks
New York Farmers and Refundable Investment Tax Credit

The recently enacted New York State budget makes the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) fully refundable for eligible farmers who derive more than two-thirds of their gross income from farming. This provision will be in place through 2027 and will greatly benefit eligible farmers in New York State. Today’s post provides a high-level overview of the ITC.

May 29, 2023

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