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FACT BRIEF

Does the infrastructure bill include a tax on dairy cows, beef cows and swine?

By Alexis Tereszcuk
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NO

Oklahoma Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin posted a column on his official website about the infrastructure bill that said, "In an attempt to eliminate fossil fuels, this legislation would impose a 'fee' on all methane emissions, including in our agriculture industry. ... The tax is estimated to cost $6,500 per dairy cow, $2,600 per head of cattle, and $500 per swine each year."

Social media noticed, and people got upset.

But the bill does not include cattle or swine.

Those numbers came from the American Farm Bureau, which is a lobbying organization that does not produce independent analysis. And the Farm Bureau says its analysis should not be interpreted to mean the per-head tax on livestock is part of the bill.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US House of Representatives Amendment text
Tulsa World Fact checking revived concerns on methane fees: Is cattle industry being taxed?
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.