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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 13, 2001
Tax Empowerment and Relief for Farmers and Fishermen (TERFF) Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow to an eligible commercial farmer or commercial fisherman a deduction, of up to 20 percent of such commercial farmer's or fisherman's taxable income which is attributable to an eligible commercial farming or fishing business, for the amount paid in cash by such commercial farmer or fisherman into a Farm, Fishing, and Ranch Risk Management Account.Amends the IRC and title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to exclude net earnings from a lease agreement (currently, an arrangement) from income with respect to farmland.Treats conservation reserve program payments as real estate rentals for self-employment earnings purposes.Exempt certain small issue agriculture bonds from the State volume cap.Sets forth a rule for determining the amount of the deduction allowable for a charitable contribution of food inventory.Extends income averaging to income from the trade or business of catching, taking, or harvesting fish intended to enter commerce through sale, barter, or trade. Disregards income averaging for farmers and commercial fishermen in computing the regular alternative minimum tax.Declares, with respect to the treatment of S corporations and to the tax exemption for farmers' cooperatives, that cooperative marketing includes the value-added processing of the products of cooperative members and other producers through animals that is by: (1) feeding such products to cattle, hogs, fish, chickens, or other animals; and then (2) selling the resulting animals or animal products.Authorizes a U.S. district court to issue a declaratory judgment relating to the initial or continuing qualification of a farmers' cooperative as tax-exempt.Provides, with respect to the small ethanol producer credit, for: (1) authorizing credit allocation among a cooperative's patrons; (2) increasing the gallon capacity for eligible producers; (3) making the credit a non-passive income credit; and (4) removing the credit from the alcohol fuel credit gross income inclusion.
People & committees
Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] · R–IA
Legislative record
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Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1331-1334)
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1331)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 19, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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