The Farmers for Tax Fairness coalition creates awareness about proposed tax reform that will pose hardship on U.S. agriculture operations.

The Farmers for Tax Fairness coalition was created in 2013 by ag consulting and accounting firm K·Coe Isom, who began working with farmers in 1932. The third-generation firm is increasingly involved in agriculture—from influencing policy to supporting input providers, producers, and post-harvest handling. The firm advocates for the long-term viability of the food and agriculture industry.

This coalition is part of a national campaign to protect farm operations’ access to cash accounting, and the biggest threat to it today is the IRS’ erroneous interpretation of the Farming Syndicate Rule. Farmers for Tax Fairness is an initiative of K·Coe Isom and is not established as a separate non-profit entity.

A team led by Ryan Stroschein, K·Coe Isom’s Federal Affairs Manager, and Brian Kuehl, K·Coe Isom’s Director of Federal Affairs, includes several of the firm’s tax and legislative issue specialists, as well as K·Coe Isom’s outreach professionals.
This cause—defending cash accounting for all active ag producers from IRS’ misreading of the law and overreach on the FSR—is broadly supported, but we still need your help creating awareness and telling your lawmakers step up and defend cash accounting.

Meet the Farmers for Tax Fairness Outreach Team

Brian Kuehl

Brian Kuehl

Director of Federal Affairs, K·Coe Isom

Brian joined K·Coe Isom in June 2013 when the firm acquired Vela Environmental, a strategic consulting firm with a long history of lobbying and sustainability consulting in the food and agriculture sector. Brian’s career includes serving as chief of staff, legislative director, and environmental and energy adviser to U.S. Senator Max Baucus. He studied psychology, legal philosophy, and political theory at the University of California at Davis and received his law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law. In 2006, he was awarded the Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design where he received a certificate in advanced environmental studies.

Tax Specialists

Paul Smith, CPA

Paul Smith, CPA

Principal, K·Coe Isom

Paul oversees K·Coe Isom’s commercial feedlot services. His expertise is in auditing and tax, income tax planning, entity structuring, and agriculture financial consulting. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University and is a member of the Kansas Livestock Association, American Angus Association, and the Barber County Cattlemen’s Association.

In the News

Farmers for Tax Fairness Applauds House Tax Reform Bill

Bill Does Not Restrict the Ability of Farmers and Ranchers to Use Cash Accounting (Nov. 2, 2017) – Farmers for Tax Fairness, a national coalition of farmers and ranchers, today applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for not restricting the use of cash accounting...

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