The commission had three specific recommendations pertaining to farmland taxation. First, agricultural land must be assessed for the March 1, 2015, assessment date using the same base assessment rate used for the March 1, 2014, assessment date. Second, agricultural land must be assessed for the March 2015 assessment date using the same soil productivity factors used in 2011. And third, there must be further study of alternative means of agricultural land assessment.
In its statement of findings, the commission noted that the “statutory formula that establishes the base assessed value for farmland creates an inherent four-year delay between the factors in the formula and the base values used to calculate the property tax bill.” That delay in the formula has become painfully evident in the past few years, as the record prices seen three and four years ago are making farmland taxes skyrocket even as current crop prices are plummeting.
“I truly appreciate all of the work the commission has done during its four meetings this summer, especially the focus they had on providing significant and lasting tax relief to Hoosier farmers,” said Katrina Hall, Farm Bureau’s director of state government relations. “We shared our members’ concerns, and the commission listened. This is an excellent beginning, but we will need the help of the entire General Assembly and Governor Pence for these recommendations to be adopted in the 2015 session.”
You can read the entire commission report on the Indiana General Assembly’s website at http://iga.in.gov/documents/
