Farm Bureau Visits Harrisburg In Support Of Legislative Goals CAMP HILL (Dauphin Co.) About 300 farmers from across the state traveled to Har risburg recently to meet with their state legislators on issues affecting agriculture. The face to-face meetings with lawmak ers took place during the annual Harrisburg Legislative Tour conducted by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. The day’s visits were followed by a banquet for state legislators at the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers hosted by Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. Guy Donaldson, president of the Farm Bureau, addressed the banquet at the conclusion of the Harrisburg Tour. “With prices for some farm commodities at their lowest level in over two decades, farmers are looking for assistance from many areas to help them survive economically,” Donaldson said. “Coming off last year’s devas tating drought and having con cerns about the growing season this year has added to the uncer tainty farmers have about their future.” Here are the issues Pennsylva nia Farm Bureau members dis cussed with legislators during the Harrisburg tour: • State inheritance tax: State inheritance taxes harshly impact the financial ability of farm fam- Heavy Duty Bale Movers Finished with Baked onTGIC Polyester Powder Coating With Kverneland Forged Steel Spears • Electrically Heat Treated These spears are stronger & allow easier bale penetration ECOM 2502 • Fits any 3 pt hitch or loader boom with 1 or 2 cylinders • Easy to change from 1 to 2 spears • 2500 lb capacity 2 PT 1000 • Attaches to lowi 3 pt arms only • Safety chains prt • 1000 lb. capacity Feed Big Round & Regular Bales or Stacks Hay Bale Feeders with 4’, s’, 6’, 8' & 10' panels Paul B. Zimmerman, Inc. 295 Woodcorner Rd. • Lititz, PA 17543 717/738-7365 Hours Call or write for additional information . , u . M° n thru Fn 7-5 & the name of your nearest dealer mile West of Epnrata Sat 7-11 ilies to pass the business on to the next generation. Unlike fed eral estate taxes, which exempt a portion of a person’s estate from taxation, state inheritance taxes are imposed on the first dollar of the estate’s taxable value. Payment of the tax, which is assessed at a rate of 6 percent for close relatives and 15 percent for others, is required to be made in cash. If the farm business does not have available cash, the farm family must sell off farm assets to pay the tax. If land must be sold to pay estate taxes, succeeding genera tions will inherit farms that are less productive and less able to survive in the future. Farm Bureau policy calls for the elimi nation of the state inheritance tax. • Regional planning and zoning: Implementation of land use planning and zoning on a county wide or regional basis can significantly impact agriculture. On one hand, regional plan ning can effectively control resi dential development and prevent conflicts which may arise when developments in trude into areas that were tradi tionally agriculture. On the other hand, unreason ably restrictive land use regula tions can prevent farmers from adopting farming practices Ifl , ML PFL 4000 !■ nH • Front end loader fork ■ • Includes chain & binders • 1500 lb capacity Added Value With Our 2 Coat Process! 1. Five step metal preparation, including iron JBm phosphate conversion coating, to enhance adhesion & prevent undercoat corrosion. 2. Zinc rich epoxy powder undercoat, 3 TGIC polyester powder top coat, baked at 400° to fuse coats, forming a cross link molecular bond which may be unpopular with local residents but are needed to stay in business. Unrestricted re gional land use planning can also prevent a farmer from de veloping a portion of the farm if he or she decides to do so. Regional planning legislation, S.B. 300, has been amended in the Senate to address several concerns voiced by Farm Bureau. The amended bill is now in the House. Farm Bureau is asking representatives to oppose any effort to remove the amendments which protect agri culture’s ability to make future changes needed to remain com petitive. • Local income taxes: Recent interpretations of state income tax laws would require farms to report as “business income” all income that is generated from interest on business assets, sales of farm livestock, and sales of farm machinery. Income from many of these assets is not re quired to be reported as business income under federal law. Since many municipalities and school districts base “earned income” tax liability on state, rather than federal, ‘busi ness income,” farmers will pay more local income taxes. If mu nicipalities and school districts increase local income tax rates, which is allowed under the *O2 mt hitch change from to 2 :apacity •om 1 spear to 2 icity :i 144 steel spear • 1 7/ SSL 2500 • Great for front loaders • Mounts in minutes • 1500 lb capacity ‘homestead” tax reform, farm ers will be paying even more in local income taxes. Farm Bureau is supporting S.B. 390 which would require local tax authorities to follow federal guidelines in computing income subject to local “earned income” taxes. The bill has passed the Senate; however, its support has been diluted by amendments relating to amuse ment taxes added in the House. Farm Bureau wants the Senate to pass a version of S.B. 390 that accomplishes its goals for changing local income tax laws. • Tort reform: Our civil jus tice system has created the atti tude that anyone who sues can make large sums of money. As a result, more and more people are bringing marginal, frivolous, and even fraudulent lawsuits in an effort to get rich. Lawsuit abuse has clogged our courts, has skyrocketed in surance costs to farmers and businesses, has prevented farm ers and others from obtaining insurance coverage, has caused taxpayers to pay more taxes to protect government from law suits, has discouraged manufac turers from marketing useful products, and has discouraged government and civic organiza tions from providing helpful public services and programs. Farm Bureau is a member of the Civil Justice Coalition which is proposing changes in law and court rules. The coalition has introduced S.B. 5, the Lawsuit Abuse Reform package, which would Feed Mill • Transport Augers TREMENDOUS Early Order Savings on Grain Dryers / ’ - > ★Full Line Parts Dept.* ★Sell, Service & Install* * t.j s accomplish the following: give courts more authority to penal ize those responsible for frivo lous lawsuits, put limits on punitive damage amounts, elim inate the practice of searching for a rich defendant in a lawsuit, let juries hear evidence of sub stance or alcohol abuse leading to a plaintiffs injury, reduce awards for “future losses” to a reasonable present value, and let juries hear about compensation being received from other sources due to an injury suffered by a plaintiff. In addition, the coalition is urging senators to write the chief justice of the state supreme court in support of pro posed changes in court rules to bring about tort reform. • Drought relief assistance: The 1999 drought was one of the worst ever suffered by Pennsyl vania farmers. Crop losses were estimated at between $5OO mil lion and $7OO million. In re sponse to inadequate federal assistance, Farm Bureau sought $2OO million in drought relief from the General Assembly last year. While only $65 million was committed for drought aid, during floor debate on the issue legislators said additional fund ing could be included in the new state budget if necessary. Out dated crop yield calculations have limited the amounts of crop loss that are eligible for fed eral relief which in turn reduces state assistance since Pennsylva nia’s aid is restricted to 75 per cent of the federal aid a farmer receives. • Stirring Systems • Utility Augers • Wet Tanks • Gram Bins (jsjg) AUTOMATIC BATCH OR CONTINUOUS FLOW GRAIN DRYERS i ’-m > c . Westfield Grain Augers 8 ” 8l 10” Transport Augers (In Stock) SPECIAL DURING APRIL No interest, no payment until October 1, 2000 Approx. 5 ml. 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