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Romney Campaign Press Release - America's Farmers Can't Afford Four More Years of Barack Obama

October 09, 2012

"The choice in November could not be more clear for our nation's farmers. Over the last four years, President Obama's economic policies have taken a toll on family farms — and he's promised more of the same in a second term. From a massive increase in the death tax to even more crushing regulations, farmers simply can't afford four more years like the last four years. As president, Mitt Romney will help create a real recovery for America's farmers by implementing a pro-growth tax code, opening new markets for exports, and creating greater prosperity for rural America." — Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

In A Second Obama Term, America's Farmers Are Facing Job-Destroying Tax Hikes And Death Taxes That Threaten Family Farms:

President Obama's Small-Business Tax Hikes Will Hit Nearly A Million Small-Business Owners, Including Farmers, And Jeopardize 710,000 Jobs. "Researchers determined the plan would actually subject 2.1 million business owners to higher rates; specifically, those who pay pass-through taxes, like most partnerships, LLCs and S-Corporations. The result, less capital in the hands of business owners and diminished labor supply, would cost the United States an estimated $200 billion in economic output and 710,000 jobs." (J.D. Harrison, "Obama Plan To Lift Top Tax Rates Would Plague Millions Of Small Businesses, Study Warns," The Washington Post, 7/17/12)

President Obama Is Backing A Death Tax Hike In His Second Term. "On the estate tax, Obama wants to return to 2009 policy, with a $3.5 million per-person exclusion and a 45 percent top rate. Some Democrats prefer the current parameters, which include a $5.12 million exclusion and a 35 percent top rate." (Richard Rubin and Kathleen Hunter, "Senate Democrats Still Filling Blanks In Obama Tax Plan," Bloomberg, 7/12/12)

  • President Obama's FY2013 Budget Includes A Total Of Nearly $120 Billion In Death Tax Hikes Over The Next Ten Years. ("Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Of The U.S. Government," Office Of Management & Budget,  2/2012)

President Obama's Death Tax Would Impact "Business Owners, Farmers And Ranchers." "The politics of the estate tax center on two numbers: the per-person exemption and the top tax rate. The exemption matters most to business owners, farmers and ranchers who can use it to avoid estate tax liability." (Richard Rubin, "Billionaires May Win As Democrats Split Over Estate Tax," Bloomberg, 7/25/12)

  • President Obama's Tax Hikes Would Subject Thousands Of Additional Family Estates, Including Farms, To The Death Tax. "That level would force more than 50,000 estates to pay a tax in 2013, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The current levels, which are favored by Republicans, would affect 4,000 estates, and the 2009 parameters first included by Democrats would hit somewhere around 7,000 or 7,500." (Bernie Becker, "Senate Dems Drop Estate-Tax Plank From Middle-Class Tax Bill," The Hill, 7/19/12)

American Farm Bureau Federation: "Estate Taxes Continue To Be A Problem For The Nation's Farmers And Ranchers. ... The Tax Can Cripple A Family-Owned Farm Or Ranch..." "In a letter to Thune and other sponsors, AFBF President Bob Stallman stated that estate taxes continue to be a problem for the nation's farmers and ranchers. Individuals, family partnerships and family corporations own 98 percent of the nation's 2 million agricultural operations. When estate taxes on an agricultural business exceed cash and other liquid assets, the tax can cripple a family-owned farm or ranch and hurt the rural communities and businesses that agriculture supports, according to AFBF." (American Farm Bureau Federation, "AFBF Backs Senate And House Bills Reforming Estate Tax," Press Release, 3/30/12)

And President Obama's Energy Policies And Regulations Will Cost Family Farms Billions Of Dollars:

In The Last Year Alone, President Obama Has Imposed Numerous Onerous Regulations On Farmers That Have Been "Increasingly Costly." "Federal regulations are increasingly costly for the U.S. economy, including for farmers and ranchers.  In the last year alone, federal regulators have finalized regulations that ask farmers to draw up oil spill prevention plans for their operations, apply for Clean Water Act permits for certain pesticide applications and report certain air emissions.  Farms and ranches will also be regulated for greenhouse gas emissions." (American Farm Bureau Federation, "Regulatory Reform," Fact Sheet, 10/2012)

The American Farm Bureau Federation Has Estimated That President Obama's Greenhouse Gas Regulations Will Cost Agriculture Nearly $1 Billion For Permits Alone. "Shaffer said farmers will face another economic hit when regulations are fully phased in under EPA's 'tailoring' approach which will apply to farms and ranches that emit, or have the potential to emit, more than 100 tons of greenhouse gases per year. Those farms and ranches will be required to apply for and obtain a Title V operating permit. Based on EPA's numbers, Shaffer said just the expense of obtaining permits would cost agriculture more than $866 million." (American Farm Bureau Federation, "EPA Regulation Of Greenhouse Gases Will Burden Farmers," Press Release, 6/19/12)

President Obama Has Said "The Most Important Policy He Could Address" In A Second Term Is Climate Change. "Obama has an ambitious second-term agenda, which, at least in broad ways, his campaign is beginning to highlight. The President has said that the most important policy he could address in his second term is climate change, one of the few issues that he thinks could fundamentally improve the world decades from now." (Ryan Lizza, "The Second Term," The New Yorker, 6/18/12)

  • Democrats' Earlier Cap-And-Trade Plan Would Have Cost Farmers $23 Billion In Lost Income. "Economists at The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis are digging deeper into the effects of the Waxman-Markey climate change legislation that includes a cap and trade plan to reduce carbon dioxide by 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020 and by 83 percent below 2005 levels in 2050. Today's victim: Farmers. Our CDA analysts found that Waxman-Markey would adversely affect farmers in a number of ways: ... The average net income lost over the 2010-2035 timeline is $23 billion — a 57% decrease from the baseline." (Nicolas Loris, "For Farmers, Cap And Trade Is A Permanent Drought Season," Heritage Foundation, 6/9/09)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - America's Farmers Can't Afford Four More Years of Barack Obama Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/303487

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