WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Mike Lee introduced the Saving the Family Farm Act of 2012. The bill would eliminate the death tax on family-owned farms and other family-owned businesses that are not “C” corporations, which are those that are taxed separately from their owners. The tax would be applied if the establishment in question were to be sold off within the first five years after the death.

“We need to protect farms and other businesses that are a part of a family’s heritage when the family wants to keep and maintain them,” said Senator Lee. “Farms are of particular concern because of the land. Currently, there are many old family farms that will someday face taxes several times their entire annual operating profit, which is the family income. These families will often have no choice but to sell the land worked and maintained by their elder generations.

“The federal government should not be in the business of strangling the owners of cherished and long-held private property. This bill will fix what is broken and end the practice of bleeding certain American families dry.”