HR0458LRB102 20141 MST 28993 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The family farm is the historic heart of American
3culture; through World War I, most of the men who defended
4America were sons of American farms, and some our country's
5most beloved holidays, led by Thanksgiving, celebrate the hard
6work and productivity of the American family farm; and
 
7    WHEREAS, In America and in Illinois, the family farm is
8currently under serious threat from a wide variety of global
9trends and factors; and
 
10    WHEREAS, A fast-moving proposal is making its way through
11the U.S. Congress that would impose a step-up tax on the
12capital gains enjoyed by an estate at the time of probate; this
13proposed tax hike would cover a wide variety of capital
14assets, including farmland and farm infrastructure; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Owners of American family farms, whose farms are
16treated as probate assets, would have to pay this tax when the
17owner of the farm passes away; and
 
18    WHEREAS, In contrast to family farms and with respect to
19farm assets owned by corporations and trusts, the corporation
20or trust would not, as an entity, have to pay capital gains
21taxes under this defined set of circumstances; and
 

 

 

HR0458- 2 -LRB102 20141 MST 28993 r

1    WHEREAS, The implications of this tilted playing field,
2with respect to the future of the family farm in America and in
3Illinois, are obvious; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
5HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
6we oppose any plan or suggestion to impose a step-up tax on
7capital gains upon probate assets; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That we believe that this tax, if imposed, would
9be a "double death tax" imposed on top of existing estate taxes
10upon the assets of people who have passed away; and be it
11further
 
12    RESOLVED, That we stand behind the family farms of the
13United States and Illinois as foundational units of the
14American way of life and believe that the public sector should
15do everything it can to defend the American family farm rather
16than take deliberate steps to damage and destroy it in the
17vestiges of space where it remains; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
19delivered to U.S. Senators Richard Durbin and Tammy Duckworth
20and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.