With 85 percent of farm and ranch assets tied up in illiquid items, many agriculture groups worry the increased tax rate could dramatically impact a family's ability to maintain a farm or ranching operation following the death of a family member.

Legislation was introduced last year in the House (H.R. 1259) and Senate (S.2242) to address this issue. Introduced in March 2011 by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), H.R. 1259 has garnered the bipartisan sponsorship of 222 members of Congress but has not moved beyond the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The companion legislation introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) has been cosponsored by all Republican members of the Senate Ag Committee but has not moved beyond the Senate Committee on Finance.

Both pieces of legislation would set the estate tax rate and exemption permanently at 35 percent and $5 million respectively.  

—From NASDA News