Cattle producers oppose beef tax increase

Thursday, February 14, 2008 8:41 PM MST

SCENIC, S.D. n Joyce Jobgen, Secretary-Treasurer of the American Agriculture Movement (AAM), expressed her organization’s opposition to a 100-percent increase, or any increase, in the Beef Checkoff Program until the program is amended to allow producers the right of refund.

“This past week leaders of the national Cattlemen’s Beef Board again discussed a 100-percent increase in the federally mandated $1-per head beef assessment,” stated Jobgen. “As a family cattle producer and a fiscal conservative, I oppose the increase because it is a 100-percent tax increase on everyone that sells beef in the United States. It is a tax because it is mandated to be paid at every point of sale for every animal, beef and dairy, and there are no provisions to allow producers the right to refund.”

Explaining the reasons why AAM considers the beef checkoff a tax, Jobgen explained, “You would think that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution would protect cattle producers from being forced to pay the checkoff, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the checkoff is ‘government speech’ and not private speech. It walks, talks and acts like a tax, so of course it is a beef tax.”

“Instead of the increase in the beef tax, we need legislation passed and enacted to allow producers the right to a refund of the beef checkoff as well as all commodity checkoffs,” added Jobgen. “Until the programs allow refunds, and are therefore voluntary, they cannot be considered as anything other than a tax. There is also a desperate need for renewed and heightened oversight of all commodity checkoff programs by Congress to ensure that not one red cent of these funds are being used for lobbying, especially to advance the self-interest of the processors and packers that do not pay the beef tax n that is unless they are a captive supplier, which is a separate issue that should be addressed in the pending new farm bill.”

“AAM does not oppose research and promotion checkoff programs,” concluded Jobgen. “But we do demand they be voluntary and acceptable to those paying them. Before any consideration of increasing the beef tax, we demand Congressional oversight hearings and the right of refund.”

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