Indiana farmers hope to avoid significant property-tax hikes by changing the way the state values their soil.
That could mean a major policy change. In the meantime, state lawmakers have filed bills that would indefinitely delay any soil-related tax increase. A temporary delay already has saved farmers an estimated $57.4 million that would have been payable this year.
That could mean a major policy change. In the meantime, state lawmakers have filed bills that would indefinitely delay any soil-related tax increase. A temporary delay already has saved farmers an estimated $57.4 million that would have been payable this year.
The uproar centers on soil-productivity factors that are a key component of tax bills on farmland. New factors, issued last year by the Department of Local Government Finance, would have raised tax collections an average 18.5 percent this year, according to a Legislative Services Agency survey of 69 counties.
“Boy, when that memo came out, people noticed right away,” said Larry DeBoer, professor of agriculture economics and a property-tax expert at Purdue University.
The reaction from the farm lobby was especially sharp because the base tax rate on agricultural land has nearly doubled since 2007, from $880 per acre to $1,630 per acre. That’s because interest rates are low, and commodity prices have been at historic levels.
At the urging of Indiana Farm Bureau, the Legislature in 2012 pushed through a one-year delay. This session, Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, and Rep. Don Lehe, R-Brookston, have filed companion bills that would make the delay indefinite.
The Department of Local Government Finance would have to get legislative approval before using a new soil factor.
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