Maryland allows for a very substantial property tax reduction for property that is used in agriculture, including woodland. At present that tax break does not apply to a home site, which includes that yard area that is reasonably related to a dwelling on a farm. Thus, on their homes, farmers pay at the same tax rate as other homeowners to fund the schools, roads, etc., that the farm families use like the rest of us. That’s only fair.
But, rumor is that the County Executive, Rick Pollitt may propose a special tax break for homes located on farms, so that the tax on them would be much less than on other homes of equivalent value in subdivisions, condos and elsewhere in Wicomico County. And those other homes would have to pay higher taxes to offset the lost revenue in order to maintain the same level of total revenue from the property tax.
What do you think of that special tax break?
30 comments:
This is pure BS , the farmers are the richest in the county. They get paid to plant , they get paid not to plant , they get a write off for all vehicles on the property , on and on . Then they bitch and moan about the price of beans and corn , get paid if it don't rain , get paid if it rains too much , sell their crap to China. Government sub. here and there and everywhere. Farm Aid , what a bunch of crap , willie.
They got the money , they can lobby
Why don't you tell the rest of the story? The tax break is a planned way to compensate for the down zoning of farmland to prevent over development of rural land. Your portrayal of this proposal is misleading at best.
Anon 1:14,
You should be skinny as a rail b/c apparently you don't like to eat. No Farms, No Food. If you don't like it then move!
1:14 You are clueless what it takes to farm. Apparently you think equipment and diesel fuel are free. Stop by Atlantic Tractor some time. You will see it costs about $500,000 for one piece of equipment. A lot of the farmers that are left are older and their children are not interested in farming. That's because there isn't enough money to support their families. What's going to happen when they quit farming? Oh I know it's going to get developed by idiots like you that don't know what the hell they are talking about. If you look at any grocery store you will find that most of the produce and grocery products are coming from foreign countries. That's because our government is not making it feasible for our farming friends to farm here any more.
yes I support it. give them the tax break. It`s like trucking, no trucks on the road nobodies product gets delivered. so if there is no farms there will be no food....
Ricky is probably able to get this Tax break that is why he is pushing it or he has to find a way to get Farmers to vote for him. It is coming up on election time and this is a way of buying votes legally.
1:15 --
"The rest of the story" is that Pollitt is bribing farmers to get them to support his downzoning scheme. They are idiots if they fall for this because the state law would have to be changed -- and that ain't gonna happen.
And since farm homes and those who liv in them put the same burden on schools, roads, etc., as other homes, why should they not pay their fair share?
Joe:
Kudos - you have trumped the main stream media once again.
Mr. Pollitt -- you've been blogged!
To 1:34 & 1:46
Do your homework idiots , they got you feeling sorry for them while they line their pockets. The farmers in the midwest are the ones that need help , not the eastern shore farmers.
Do your homework. It's a political thing idiots! The farmers on the shore don't know what taxes are , it's been so long since they paid any.
Sure , give it all away . Just make sure they hire only legal americans.
Yes! Help the farmers! Without the agriculture industry, the economy in America would plummet even more than it already has. Until you work and live on a farm, you have no idea the labor it takes to provide food for the people.
How about a tax break for those of us who are struggling and on the brink of bankruptcy due to this economy? Oh yes... We don't farm so we don't deserve it. We should bear the burden of additional taxes. The county should think before they do foolish things like purchase parking lots and give tax breaks when they are forcing employees to have furlough days and cutting services. These are the things I will remember during election time..... I won't be voting for anyone who foolishly threw away money and cut our services...
This is simply a down zoning deal. It will benefit the chicken farmers and grain farmers who live on their farms. However, Farmers rent far more land they own. The land owners who are not farmers own more then 80% of the land that is tilled in this County. The land owners will get nothing out of this deal, except a down zoning of their property. The down zoning will also decrease the amount of money that a land owner will receive for the Ag Preservation right, since the land will be worth less.
It is important to remember that according to the Health Department less then 25% of the land in the county will pass the Perc test.
This deal calls for a million dollar reduction in tax dollars to the county. This county can not stand any further reduction of income. We are going to reduce our income by a million dollars plus, but we can not pay any over time for snow removal by the county roads? What is the deal ?
Where was Rick's Fundraiser last weekend?
2:49--
Cpmpared to the past, it takes very little labor these days. Try using a horse and plow and you will get my point.
Just another move by Mr. Pollitt to make the tree huggers happy while buying support from the farmers. It should be known that one of the farmers that sat on the panel that recomended this family owns three nice homes on the river with lots barns and stands to save a lot if this passes.
you are correct the rest of the taxpayers will have to make up the difference. another good reason to keep the cap
I love it.. You people think farming is free and we pay no taxes, HA HA HA if you only knew how many THOUSANDS of dollars we pay every year in taxes.. Oh but wait we get everything, that $350,000 combine was free..Not hardly not to mention the yearly cost of farming, who hear would like to pay my MONTHLY Cato bill for diesel fuel.. Nothing in farming is free or cheep, so get your facts strait before you go bashing the people that support AMERICA. Also, get off your high horse, we have no issue hiring anyone of any race who will work, most americans think they are too good to work hard. So grow up!!
3:04 --
Nobody is making you do what you choose to do, so stop whining about having to pay your fair share of taxes on your home (not your ag land) like everyone else.
PS - you are nuts if you swallow Pollitt's bait.
Maybe I should go into farming. I could live for less, get tax breaks every single season, drive a new vehicle every other year, have 5 kids that get free medical and free lunches, I would be able to hunt and fish whenever I feel like it and hire 50 mexicans to do all the work for the same price it would cost for 10 legal citizens. Or I could pay some people under the table to pick crops for me so they can continue to drain the system by showing no income.
Wow farming these days is NOTHING like it was 30 years ago. There were true farmers that took pride in America and in being upstanding people, now the farming industry whines and cries about everything and expects to be catered to. Grow a set, stand up and be a man responsible for either your success or your failures and stop blaming the world for your own ignorance.
To the true farmers thank you, to the whine bags taking it over shut up and learn responsibility for ones own actions!
In the good old days farmers bought Buicks, but now it's Mercedes.
This also includes all barns and poultry houses.
Don't criticize farmers with your mouth full. I really don't care what Pollitt does. I do care when people bash farmers though. Go ahead, run them off the Eastern Shore and see how fast you lose your job as a result. Whether you think so or not, most of your jobs depend on farming. Look at how many people are employed in the poultry industry...
3:08
I can assure you I am not complaining about the taxes I pay, by the way that is all taxes, not just my home. I am stating a point, dont tell me we dont pay taxes!!! Anyone of you who think we dont work hard, is more than welcome to come to my house and spend some time in my familys shoes. No I am not complaining, I LOVE living on a farm, my kids are learing to work for what they get, not whine and get your way. Also, we have no employees other than my husband, myself, and my father in law. My husband works very hard for what we have, and not one of us takes that for granted.
Also, what moron thinks just because were farmers we get free medical care, that is governement Assistance for people with low income. Get it right either were rich or poor, you dont get to have it both ways.
I am not blasting anyone, but have a question.
I have no children, am 58 years old and have never complained about paying my fair share. I am curious when I will get a break on the taxes for education, especially since I have paid in all these years and never received a benefit since I did not have children. When is my break coming?
2:01 I am not a freaking idiot. I am a farmer's daughter so I know how much we pay in taxes every year. I can't stand MORONS like you who talk out of both sides of their mouth when in fact YOU don't have all the facts.
Why. They have illegal immigrant workin partically for free.
9:23 there is a way to prevent farmers from hiring migrant workers, legal or illegal. Send your kids out to the fields and let them earn some money to pay for those video games they sit in front of all day long. If they had to earn a 1/4 of what they had they would appreciate it a lot more and take better care of it. Imagine a kid working to buy his first car these days. Why when mommy and daddy will buy it for them? An honest days work never killed anyone or their kids. Ship them off to a farm for the summer then take notice of how the kid has changed for the better once they learn responsibility and what it is to actually work for something.
2:01 I have been married to a chicken/grain farmer for 48 years. I have kept the farm books for 48 years. I have carried those record to a CPA for probably 40 years due to the growing complexity of the many forms farmers are required to fill out. We are required to keep fuel records, vehicle mileage records, income records, identified by type and amount, expense records, also identified by type and amount, depreciation records carried over from year to year, etc. There is no short form to use.
I write the checks and have been paying income tax quarterly for 47 years. Any business owner is required to pay quarterly estimated taxes. If I have estimated wrong during the year and we owe additional taxes at the end of the year than we have to pay a penalty (fine). We have never received a tax refund but we have owed additional taxes. Basically we are filing and paying income tax four times a year to the state and federal governments.
All those "free" subsidies are taxable income too. Uncle Sam sends us a 1099 yearly so we do not forget.
3:52... you get free medical because you are a farmer, anyone that knows the regulations of the system knows that farmers are automatically eligible for state childrens healthcare just as they are eligible for free lunches in schools. Just as farmers get tuition breaks.... Even if you chose not to admit it the truth is still fairly obvious to anyone willing to check into it. That's like saying just because you cover your eyes the sun is setting at 2pm...your perception of the truth is not the reality of the truth!
12:19 am
Please tell me where you are getting your info on Free Health ins., free lunches, and tuition breaks.. I would love to check this out. For one my family is a
5th generation farm family in somerset co. and I can assure you I am not recieving any of the breaks above our family health ins. is CareFirst BCBS and we pay out of our pockets for it every month (ps. its not cheep either). Next feel free to call Holly Grove and ask if any of the farm kids there are getting a tuition break, they will be quick to tell you NO...Again, I highly dougbt you know what you are talking about, but if I am wrong PLEASE prove it to me, reply back a source on this I can check out, if I am wrong I will be more than happy to admit to it :)
Ps. generally things that are free have strings attached like income, again if farmers are rich, we dont qualify for low income government assistance
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