From the Kokomo Tribune:
State and county officials are letting farmers know that the base rate used to calculate the tax value of agricultural land is going up again in 2014, based on a state formula derived from factors including cash rent, yields, production costs, market prices and interest rates.
The base rate will increase from $1,760 for the 2013-pay-2014 tax year, to $2,050 for the 2014-pay-2015 tax year. Howard County Assessor Jamie Shepherd-Bryant announced the change in a press release issued last week.
“Agricultural land rates are provided and established by the State of Indiana on an annual basis,” Shepherd-Bryan explained.
“The Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) provides all 92 counties with the certified rate to use in determining the overall assessed value of agricultural land. The calculations made for 2014 payable 2015 are based on a rolling six-year average (2006 to 2011) of market value-in-use.
“The lowest five years of the six-year rolling average are utilized. Once the state certifies the base rate of all agricultural land, the county assessor applies the soil productivity factor to the measured acreage to determine the overall assessed value.”
The base rate is one of the factors used to determine property taxes for agricultural land. The base rate is further refined through the application of another variable, soil productivity factors, as well as the number of acres, to arrive at a net assessed value.
The base rate has increased steadily in recent years. The base rate stood at $1,200 in 2008-pay-2009.
http://www.kokomotribune.com/business/x651180520/Agricultural-base-rate-increasing-again-for-14
