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Minnesota Farm Bureau seeks tax relief for farmers

 

The number one priority for Minnesota Farm Bureau going into the 2015 legislative session was agricultural property tax relief.

Farm Bureau Policy Director Doug Busselman tells Brownfield most farmers in the state pay ten times the amount of property taxes for school buildings than non-farm Minnesotans.  Farm Bureau was looking to have that equalized with everybody paying for their house, their garage; the land on which those buildings sit, according to Busselman.

That particular piece of legislation did not garner the type of support Farm Bureau was hoping for, “There were concerns over how much that type of a shift would bring about on homeowners and communities,” Busselman said.  “And what kind of effect it would have on local schools.”

He says there is still some hope for ag property tax relief this session, “Where perhaps as much as half of their property taxes that are connected with school debt bonds will possibly be paid by state funds.”

This approach gives targeted relief to those who need it now, according to Busselman, but other alternatives may need to be looked at down the road.