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President Biden released a $5.8 trillion budget plan on March 28, which proposes new tax increases along with the elimination of vital research funding for the potato industry.
“Fortunately, this budget proposal is dead-on-departure,” said RJ Andrus, NPC VP of Legislative Affairs. “Last year, NPC successfully worked with Congress to block the Biden Administration’s previous attempt to eliminate the NIFA potato breeding program. The Council, along with our state partners, will again call upon our Congressional champions to ensure that this valuable bipartisan investment is maintained and enhanced in the FY23 appropriations process.”
On tax policy, the Biden Administration’s changes include: increasing the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent; raising the top individual income tax bracket to 39.6 percent from 37 percent; and a new minimum 30 percent tax on multimillionaires and billionaires.
Notably, the budget requests $31.1 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture — a 12% increase over the 2021 enacted level with a substantial focus on new funding for climate initiatives.
For more than 30 years, NPC has worked with the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to secure NIFA funding to support competitive potato breeding projects across the country.
In response to the proposed cut, NPC President Jared Balcom said, “The proposed elimination of this vital industry research is disappointing. With costs on producers and consumers skyrocketing, now is not the time to reduce federal resources for agricultural research that has proven to improve the quality and quantity of U.S.-grown potatoes using fewer inputs and resources.”
SOURCE: NATIONAL POTATO COUNCIL
