BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — State Representative Sharon Chung said in a town hall Tuesday she hopes to change the estate tax to help Illinois farmers.
"Farmers tend to really take the brunt of the estate tax more than your everyday people," she said.
An estate is taxed a percentage of all the properties, investments and all other belongings when the owner dies.
Currently, if a person’s estate is $4 million or less, they are exempt from the tax. The problem is, generally farmers own a lot of property, not only the land itself, but also farming equipment.
Chung said farmers are land rich but cash poor. They get hit with a high estate tax often without the funds to pay it.
Her proposal would increase that exemption to $6 million, which she hopes will put more farmers under the exemption threshold.
"I’ve met people who paid the estate tax five times over," she said. "That sort of thing makes farmers, especially for the younger generations, consider not taking over the modern family farm."
This proposal is similar to another bill filed in the Spring that never made it past committee. It was filed by a Republican.
Chung’s proposal will also require the exemption to be adjusted annually according to the increase in the Consumer Price Index.
In simple terms, the exemption value will adjust to the value of property year by year. That means they won’t have to pass a new bill every time property values go up.
She said she hopes to get this bill passed in the 2026 Spring session.
Feeds,News,City: Peoria,Peoria,Central
via CIProud.com https://ift.tt/t6haATZ
September 17, 2025 at 01:59PM
Illinois Delivered 