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.

Changes in Fed. tax provisions affecting both individual and business income taxes have reduced average tax rates for all farm households, resulting in the lowest tax burden on farm income and investment in a decade. Similarly, an analysis of the changes to Fed. estate tax policies suggests that increases in the value of property that can be transferred to the next generation free of the estate tax, combined with special provisions for farmers and other small businesses, have greatly reduced the number of farm estates subject to the tax and the amount owed. While nearly 10% of commercial farm estates could owe tax in 2009, only 1-2% of all farm estates are estimated to be subject to the Fed. estate tax this year. Charts and tables.