ICBA urging grassroots outreach on ACRE Act

With Congress potentially taking up tax legislation when it returns from the current congressional recess, ICBA is calling on community bankers to urge their lawmakers to co-sponsor legislation that would provide tax relief to support rural lending.

Details: ICBA urges community bankers to use its Be Heard Grassroots Action Center to contact their members of Congress in support of the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act (H.R. 1822/S. 838). The ICBA-advocated legislation would exempt from taxation interest on loans secured by farmland and residential mortgages in towns under 2,500 population.

Background: The ACRE Act would:

• Provide farmers, ranchers, and rural homeowners with lower-cost credit.

• Allow producers to improve their cashflow positions at a time of tremendous economic stress in the farm sector.

• Enable family farmers to remain on their farms and ranches, preventing further consolidation within the farm sector.

• Offer community banks flexibility to work with struggling family farmers and ranchers.

Key Priority: The ACRE Act is a key priority of ICBA’s “Repair, Reform, and Thrive” plan and open letter to the 119th Congress, which outline comprehensive reforms to address the nation’s policy challenges.