4 ms·

I also love how the family farm remains a universal justification even as it’s almost entirely disappeared from American life. It’s similar to how every America

I also love how the family farm remains a universal justification even as it’s almost entirely disappeared from American life. It’s similar to how every American child knows what a pig and cow sound like despite almost none of them having seen one. Our culture is funny. That aside, I’m not arguing for a lower estate tax threshold. I’m arguing for an elimination of the state up basis at death, at least for assets which the estate tax has not been paid. If Joe Farmer’s kids keep his $10 million farm, they won’t pay any taxes. But if they sell it, they ought to have the same basis as Joe would were he still alive.

DetroitThrow 5y ago
Keep in mind, not even a couple dozen family farms have to pay any estate tax any given year, and that number is getting smaller: https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/the-federal-estate-tax https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/the-federal-estate...
ipaddr 5y ago
I would say most kids have seen a pig or a cow either at a farm, driving past a farm or going to the zoo (zoos are a common experience for most average kids).
- kingaillas 5y ago
  Zoos I've been to tend to have more exotic animals - giraffes, elephants, zebras, lions, monkeys, etc. I think a zoo would prefer to direct its budget/resources towards these kinds of animal attractions. In the U.S., a pettings zoos or a county fair might have pigs, cows, and others like goats, horses, etc. Working animals or ones that kids/families raise for contests/shows, say the 4H society or FFA.
- Woberto 5y ago
  I don't remember seeing pigs or cows at any zoos I've been too. Have you? I've certainly driven past cows in fields, but a child living in a city may not experience that. I think pigs are even more rare since they don't seem to be kept outside.
  - jessaustin 5y ago
    There's really no reason other than custom that appropriate numbers of pigs couldn't be raised and slaughtered in any city. They can subsist entirely on table scraps, the disposal of which is a regular burden for cities. They don't require lots of room to roam. They do produce effluent, but that is only a burden at mega-farm volumes. An individual hog will produce roughly what an individual human will produce, but only when it approaches the right size to butcher. Eventually this will seem normal, if only because chicken husbandry is growing more common all the time in many cities.
koheripbal 5y ago
Most small businesses - even those little shops owned by immigrants, are valued in the millions. The step up basis will probably be limited or eliminated this year with Biden's tax plan.

DetroitThrow 5y ago

Keep in mind, not even a couple dozen family farms have to pay any estate tax any given year, and that number is getting smaller: https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/the-federal-estate-tax https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/the-federal-estate...

ipaddr 5y ago

I would say most kids have seen a pig or a cow either at a farm, driving past a farm or going to the zoo (zoos are a common experience for most average kids).

kingaillas 5y ago
Zoos I've been to tend to have more exotic animals - giraffes, elephants, zebras, lions, monkeys, etc. I think a zoo would prefer to direct its budget/resources towards these kinds of animal attractions. In the U.S., a pettings zoos or a county fair might have pigs, cows, and others like goats, horses, etc. Working animals or ones that kids/families raise for contests/shows, say the 4H society or FFA.
Woberto 5y ago
I don't remember seeing pigs or cows at any zoos I've been too. Have you? I've certainly driven past cows in fields, but a child living in a city may not experience that. I think pigs are even more rare since they don't seem to be kept outside.
- jessaustin 5y ago
  There's really no reason other than custom that appropriate numbers of pigs couldn't be raised and slaughtered in any city. They can subsist entirely on table scraps, the disposal of which is a regular burden for cities. They don't require lots of room to roam. They do produce effluent, but that is only a burden at mega-farm volumes. An individual hog will produce roughly what an individual human will produce, but only when it approaches the right size to butcher. Eventually this will seem normal, if only because chicken husbandry is growing more common all the time in many cities.

koheripbal 5y ago

Most small businesses - even those little shops owned by immigrants, are valued in the millions. The step up basis will probably be limited or eliminated this year with Biden's tax plan.