Cattle producers get extra 12 months of relief on sales prompted by drought
TEXAS - Cattle producers around the country who are forced to sell animals because of drought will not have to pay capital-gains taxes for a year after the parched conditions end, the Internal Revenue Service announced.
17 September 2006
1 minute read
If a rancher replaces an animal, his tax liability for the sale will not exist, officials said.
Previous legislation gave cattlemen four years - beginning in 2002 - to replace the livestock sold because of drought without recognizing a capital gain.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson last week extended the provision for an additional year if in the 12 months ending Aug. 31 there were severe, extreme or exceptional drought conditions in a particular area. "Your clock doesn't start ticking until your area recovers enough that it's out of those three categories of drought," National Cattlemen's Beef Association spokesman Joe Schuele said.
"This just offers them time to make those (buying) decisions at a time when conditions are better."
In early August, U.S. Sens. Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi of Wyoming, as well as other senators, wrote to the Treasury Department seeking the extension. The original legislation was authored by Thomas.
Source: Billings Gazette
