Work on 199 Fix Continues in Congress

Work continues in Congress to pass an omnibus federal budget by Friday.  That includes attempt to level the playing field between cooperatives and other businesses involved in grain trade and similar commodities.  What is known as Section 199-A of the recently adopted tax law.

"This one unfortunately was very market disruptive for our industry, because we have members on both sides of this issue. It allows for a tax advantage to co-ops compared to other independent sectors in the marketplace. Really we create market disruptions, if farmers would have very little choice in what they did," Ag Secretary Sony Perdue said earlier this week.

Section 199-A, as currently written, gives farmers who sell Ag goods to cooperatives a 20% deduction in gross payments, but not to producers selling to private or investor owned grain operations.

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