Extract: The organization of U.S. agriculture - farm numbers, size, and type of business organization - is apparently influenced by both Federal tax policy and traditional farm policy. Tax policies such as cash accounting or current expensing of farm costs, capital gains, corporate tax rates, and estate tax provisions seem to encourage some farms to expand, others to incorporate, and many to continue the same ownership. Tax provisions and tax treaties with other countries seem to encourage foreign investment in U.S. agriculture. A research challenge for the 1980's may be to integrate the best features of tax and agricultural policies to achieve stated goals for agriculture.

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.