The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is actively working to preserve key tax provisions crucial to the survival and success of pork producers across the United States. Recently, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee held a field hearing at the Iowa State Fair, focusing on several expiring provisions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The hearing gathered insights from agriculture and business stakeholders, highlighting the critical role these tax provisions play in maintaining financial stability, fostering growth, and enabling strategic business planning within the pork industry.
Several important provisions, including bonus depreciation, the qualified business income deduction, and increased estate tax exemptions, are at risk of expiring unless Congress takes action. Bonus depreciation, for example, allows producers to deduct the full cost of equipment in the year it’s placed into service, rather than depreciating it over several years. The loss of this provision could significantly increase taxable income for producers, limiting their ability to make necessary capital investments in cutting-edge technology and equipment.
The qualified business income deduction, Section 199A, is another vital provision. Its expiration could lead to higher tax liabilities or force producers to adopt less flexible business structures, resulting in dual taxation as a corporation. With pork producers already facing challenging economic conditions, including low or negative margins over the past two years, any increase in tax burden could severely hinder their ability to recover and sustain operations.
NPPC representatives, including Chase Adams, Assistant Vice President of Domestic Policy; Christina Banoub, Manager of Competition, Labor, and Tax Issues; and Tyler Bettin, Assistant Vice President of Producer Services, attended the recent hearing to advocate for the pork industry’s interests. The NPPC is committed to working with Congress on a bipartisan basis, engaging with newly formed “tax teams” to explore potential tax legislation for 2025 that could address the looming expiration of these provisions.
To strengthen their case, NPPC is partnering with a leading accounting and food and agriculture consulting firm to develop an in-depth analysis. This analysis aims to underscore the importance of maintaining these tax provisions and to propose additional tax changes that could further benefit pork producers.
The NPPC’s efforts are focused on ensuring that pork producers continue to benefit from effective tax policies that support profitability and growth. As the tax landscape evolves, the NPPC will remain at the forefront, advocating for the preservation of these essential provisions and exploring new opportunities to enhance the financial health of the pork industry.
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