The Emergency Citrus Response Act was tacked on to the tax bill at the last minute.
The new law allows growers to take a tax deduction on the cost of replanting trees lost to citrus greening disease and damage from Hurricane Irma.
Andrews Meadows is with the Bartow-based trade association Florida Citrus Mutual. He says the new law is an incentive for struggling farmers to replant as well as for investors looking for some insurance against crop loss.
“There are lots of people out there that are sort of looking at us and seeing what we are going through. We are hoping that this tax bill pushes them over the brink and gets that capital here,” Meadows said.
Meadows says Florida citrus growers are now focused on lobbying for the Hurricane Irma relief package that is still idled in the U.S. Senate.
