Axne: No stepped-up basis changes in House passed BBB Act

by | Nov 22, 2021 | 5 Ag Stories, News

Iowa Third District Congresswoman Cindy Axne is touting the Build Back Better Act passed by the U.S. House on Friday.

Axne ? the lone U.S. Representative from Iowa to vote yes on the bill ? says perhaps the biggest component of the Build Back Better Act that farmers were watching closely was the important stepped-up basis tax provision. In a Zoom call with members of the media Friday morning, Axne acknowledged there were efforts from the administration to scrap stepped-up basis, but in the end, she was happy to see it was left untouched in the approved package.

AUDIO: Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa)

?There are no changes to the stepped-up basis at this point,? Axne said. ?There were going to be possibly. That is something that I fought tooth and nail against. We wanted to make sure we could pass our family farms on to the kids and continue to have those in our families. That was a key priority for me. I know it was a priority for the president, but I had to work really hard to make sure it wasn?t in there because many folks saw it as an opportunity for a pay-for. But you know what, we were actually able to get to the people who should be paying their fair share, that top less than 1% and not our hardworking farmers and farm families in Iowa. I can tell you that stepped-up basis isn?t in there. There?s also no IRS piece in there for looking at bank accounts either because I listened to Iowans and I wanted to make sure we fulfilled those promises.?

A number of Axne?s priorities were included in the final version of the bill, including: affordable child care, biofuels infrastructure, expanded rural broadband, affordable prescription drugs, career skills training programs, housing, and improved support for older Iowans and their families.

The $1.7 trillion social spending and climate bill now awaits action in the Senate.