The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing last week for President Biden’s nominee to be an assistant Secretary of the Treasury, which included a focus on possible tax changes that could impact farmers and ranchers.
Lily Lawrence Batchelder answered questions about the President’s proposal to end stepped-up basis on family farms and replace it with a capital gains transfer tax. She said her read of the proposal shows it would delay any tax due for family farms and business until it was no longer owned and operated by the family.
Senator Grassley (R-IA) argued the plan could still pose problems figuring basis after the owner of a family farm held for generations passes away.
“There are some precedents for this kind of provision that I worked on back in my time with former chairman Baucus. But i would be eager to work with you and your staff, if confirmed, to make sure that that was drafted in a way that was workable and technically sound,” said Grassley during the hearing.
Batchelder is a New York University Tax law professor and previously served as the Senate Finance committee’s chief tax counsel.
