Virginia State Senator A. Benton Chafin last week introduced a bill that would significantly hike “checkoff” taxes that cattle growers in the state must pay. The move follows efforts in other states—including recently in Oklahoma—to increase or introduce state-level checkoff taxes, which are charged in addition to the $1 per head tax collected at the federal level. Many local ranchers oppose both the tax and the idea that it will be imposed by the legislature, saying the process effectively shuts independent cattle producers out of having a say in this sector specific levy.
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