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Excerpts from Rep. Reichert’s conversation with Mrs. Mosby:
Mrs. Mosby: Because we’re a first-generation farm, we’re still paying for all of those important things like tractors and buildings and property … With the average age of a farmer being 55, you kind of have to stop and think. What does agriculture look like 25 years from now? What is the incentive for somebody who’s young to get into agriculture when their next generation is going to have to potentially sell their farm or sell off land to pay estate taxes?
Rep. Reichert: So, estate tax is very important for you?
Mrs. Mosby: Oh, very important. Because we’re building here. We’re blood, sweat, and tears and tractors running after dark with headlights on.
Rep. Reichert: What about, we were talking earlier, 100 percent expensing, for example? How does that affect your farm?
Mrs. Mosby: It would be a blessing. I mean, a tractor like this is more than some people’s houses. We plan the best we can every year and Mother Nature and circumstances always affect your season. So anywhere where you can make things a little bit easier. It’s a tough job—above and beyond regulations and labor issues and all of those kinds of things. To be able to reinvest into your farm is critical.
Rep. Reichert: Well, as you can see here at the Mosby Farm it’s raining. Typical Washington weather, right? But they are still working here today … This is a business that is well known across the southeastern part of our district, but they struggle because they’ve got a tax code that is so burdensome. Our goal is to make a fairer, simpler tax code so that you can grow your business, hire more employees, sell your products, and—most importantly—pass your business on to the next generation.