Greg Ganske: “a week ago I participated, for a day, in the annual bike ride across Iowa. And as I rode my bike through those rolling…”

“a week ago I participated, for a day, in the annual bike ride across Iowa. And as I rode my bike through those rolling hills of corn and beans, I could not help but think about how today Iowa farmers are going to be smiling. Why? Well, we are going to raise the exemption for death taxes to $1.3 million. Something important for family farmers. We are going to allow them to pay those death taxes in installments and extend that. We are going to allow family farmers to income average in order to smooth out the rough edges of lean years. We are going to increase the deductibility of health insurance for the self-employed farmers, small businessmen, to 100 percent. We are going to cut capital gains taxes, something very important to a farmer who defers his income to the day that he retires. We are going to provide favorable tax treatment for livestock sold when they have to get rid of their herd because of bad weather. We are going to retain current provisions on ethanol. And we are going to, for businesses that are small, reduce the AMT. Mr. Speaker, this is a good day for farmers and small businesses in small towns all across rural Iowa and America.”