U.S. Agricultural Response to Income Taxation

Book excerpt: U.S. Agricultural Response to Income Taxation is the first extensive look at how income tax policy affects agriculture in the U.S. Surveying a significant body of research, Carman documents the effects of federal income tax on production and investment decisions in agriculture, farm size, and, prior to 1986's tax reform act, tax-shelter investments by non-farmers. Guiding a reader through tax and farm policy with helpful flow charts and graphs, Carman discusses the impact of income taxes on land prices; decisions regarding machinery and equipment, orchards, and livestock; management practices that take advantage of cash accounting; capital gains tax and depreciation provisions; and tax equity. He also examines the interactions of income taxes with social security taxes, estate and gift taxes, and corporate income taxes. This book concludes with a timely review of how various tax proposals, from a fiat tax to a consumption tax, might affect farmers and agriculture in the U.S.