WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today took his own action during a breakfast with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and asked for the Secretary’s help to ensure Iowa farmers without power aren’t penalized for missing the March 1 tax deadline due to winter storm-related power outages.
“I brought up the matter to the Secretary unexpectedly, so he wasn’t able to offer immediate feedback. But, I appreciate the fact that he said he would look into it and see what he could do to work with us and help,” Grassley said. “It will certainly speed up the process though, when the Governor makes a request to the President for disaster assistance.”
Many farmers have an earlier tax filing deadline of March 1 to avoid being hit with a tax penalty. The power outages led many Iowa accountants to call Grassley’s office to explain that farmers had to cancel appointments because they couldn’t get on their computers to print their files. The cancellations will also lead to a backlog when the power does eventually come on.
“Farmers need to be worrying about watering their livestock, not filing their taxes. Much of rural Iowa has wells for water. This means when the power goes out, there’s no water. I can remember years ago having to break ice in a stream after leading my cows nearly a mile away from their normal pasture,” Grassley said. “It’s the nature of the business, but farmers shouldn’t have to pay a penalty because of a natural disaster.”
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