Farmers Exemption from Estate Taxes

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 3524) recently introduced a bill that will exempt family farms from federal estate taxes if the farms will stay with their respective families.  The bill is called Family Farm Preservation Conservation Estate Tax Act.  It was assigned to the Committee of House Ways and Means after being introduced by (D-Colo) Rep. John Salazar and (D-Napa) Rep. Mike Thompson.

According to Laurel Brown, the spokeswoman of Thompson, “The bill would defer estate taxes on conserved and agricultural land indefinitely, so long as it still remains in the family - this ensures that nobody would have to sell the land just to pay for the estate taxes.  Then Murray said that “So many family farms have been struggling until now.  This bill will encourage farms to remain in the family’s possession.  There aren’t too many left.”

The law governing agricultural estate taxes is expiring next year.  It’s expected to be replaced by another law in 2011 that would tax families blending the levels of 2001 and 2002.  This level is hard for a lot of family farms, which are typically asset rich yet cash poor.

The new estate legislation was endorsed by 28 farm organizations including Western United Dairymen, Western Growers, California Association Winegrape Growers, and California Farm Bureau Federation.

Tags: agriculture, bill, estate, estate taxes, farms, federal, John Salazar, Laurel Brown, law, legislation, Mike Thompson, U.S. House of Representatives
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Proposed Health Reform

Monday, August 17th, 2009

With all U.S. economy problems -surging bank failures, rising foreclosures, and high unemployment, you would think that the resolution for these crises would be focused on by Congress.  The legislators may have believed in a spin because they started new initiatives like cap-and-trade bill.  Now, they passed the health care reform (H.R. 3200).

Under the proposed law, there is a requirement for employers to offer a health plan and pay the premium (at least 72.5%) for their workers.  In addition, those citizens without insurance will be penalized by 2.5% tax.  Rich people will be punished further with surcharge - they wouldn’t be able to deduct the fee.

However, some bill critics claim that this will deny medical treatment that’s supposedly for the elderly and disabled.  When you look at pages 425-432, the bill authorizes conference payments between health care providers and patients to create “advanced care directive.”  Physicians will receive higher reimbursement rate when they participate, although this is not a mandatory plan.  This medical order may include hospice care, health care proxies, living wills, and other intervention details that the patient wants before the end of his life.

For most health care providers, they want to comply and boost revenue.  Incentive payments require data sharing with government under Physician’s Quality Reporting Initiative.

Tags: bill, Congress, crises, foreclosures, health care reform, health plan, high unemployment, legislators, living will, medical treatment, physicians
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The Good that Comes out of Tragedy

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Gov. Chris Gregoire said “out of tragedy comes something good.” She is talking about Zackery Lystedt Law – the first bill that she signed which will protect young athletes from traumatic brain injuries or death due to trauma.

In the bill signing, 16-year-old Zackery Lystedt was beside her, dressed in a black suit and sitting in a wheelchair. In their back stood his family, friends, and supporters (more than 50 of them).

Lystedt suffered a concussion in October 2006 while playing in a football game for middle-school. Moreover, he returned to the game without any medical evaluation. He proceeded to take a few more hits, and then he collapsed a minute after the game ended. As a result, his traumatic brain injury placed him in a coma for several months and required extensive therapy after two years.

Zackery Lystedt Law was proposed and passed to protect athletes from similar injuries. The law requires any athlete to consult a licensed medical professional if there’s an apparent injury (whether in practice or in a game). Before the athlete could go back in the play, there should be an approval from the doctor (or any certified athletic trainer).

“This bill saves lives every year,” says Stan Herring, the clinical physician for Washington School of Medicine, team physician for NFL’s Seahawks, and one of the strongest supporters of the bill.

If you are victim of clinical malpractice and you need more information on clinical negligence visit Alexander Harris Solicitors.

Tags: bill, Chris Gregoire, Injury, law, Stan Herring, Zachery Lystedt Law
Posted in Injury, Sports Injury | No Comments »