President Joe Biden’s reckless spending policies are making life more expensive for Arkansans. The money we’ve budgeted for the grocery store isn’t stretching as far, consumers in the market for a used car are finding a sky-high expense and the sticker shock at the gas pump is forcing us to fork over more of our hard-earned money. The U.S. Department of Labor recently reported prices for consumer goods increased in June to a 13-year high. Despite this troubling economic marker, the White House and congressional Democrats continue to advance their partisan priorities that leave hardworking Americans to foot the bill. 

Instead of promoting policies that drive prices down, the president and his party are doubling down on their failed strategy with a proposed $3.5 trillion spending spree. While the president has promised not to raise taxes on Americans making less than $400,000 a year, his agenda reflects a far different reality. Paying for his liberal wish list package will mean taxing citizens from the cradle to the grave. An analysis by the Tax Foundation found the measure would result in Arkansans paying, on average, $745 more in taxes within five years.

In Arkansas, where agriculture is a leading economic industry, the president’s reckless tax and spending plan would be devastating to family farmers, ranchers and small businesses. While the administration has dismissed the idea that its proposed changes to the tax code would threaten the livelihoods of these producers, the evidence shows otherwise.

An analysis by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University looked at how the president’s proposed inheritance tax changes would impact family farms and ranches, and researchers found that nearly 98 percent of family farms surveyed would be hit with an additional tax liability of more than $720,000.

Just as crippling to family farms and small businesses is the president’s proposal to change Section 1031 of the tax code, which would create a ‘Land Swap Tax.’ The current tax code allows agricultural producers to sell their farmland and defer the capital gains tax, as long as the profits from the sale are used to purchase new farmland. The president’s proposal limits access to Section 1031 to no more than $500,000, after which point capital gains taxes would apply. The Biden Land Swap Tax would dry up the farmland market, make it harder for new or beginning farmers to start farming, and stunt agriculture business growth and reinvestment. Ultimately, land is a farmer’s 401k, so the Biden Land Swap Tax would be yet another unfair hit to family farmers.

The family farm is a rich part of the Natural State’s agricultural heritage. Generations of producers are rightfully proud of these Century Farms. We must continue to enact and maintain policies that support these operations well into the future. 

These changes to the tax code put the future of family farms, ranches and small businesses at risk. That’s why I’ve been leading the fight against this short-sighted, ill-advised effort. As the lead Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, I recently sounded the alarm on the consequences of these proposals and have urged the president to abandon them.

I’m a champion of policies that strengthen the ability of our farmers and ranchers to feed and clothe the world, and I will continue to be a voice opposing measures like the irresponsible tax increases that burden the industry.

At a time when small businesses are still trying to recover from the negative economic consequences of the pandemic and hire employees willing to work, the president’s policies are making it more challenging for family farmers to succeed. President Biden’s spending plan comes with a price tag we will all be forced to pay.