Republican U.S. Representative Rick Crawford of Arkansas this week introduced a bill in the U.S. House intended to help farmers save for disasters and difficult times. Crawford says the Farm Risk Abatement and Mitigation Election Act would give farmers the option of taking disaster preparedness into their hands. The FRAME Act would establish tax-deferred farm savings accounts that farmers could withdraw from during difficult times without waiting for disaster declarations and government assistance. He says the accounts would work much like an IRA or Health Savings Account and would give farmers the option of investing. To encourage initial investment, farmers would be eligible to write-off FRAME Account contributions on their tax bill. Contributions would be tax deductible up to $50,000 per year, and farmers would retain 10 percent of their contributions as a tax credit during the first few years after opening the account. The bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration.
