Thursday, May 17, 2007

SPITZER GETS BILL LIMITING FARM TAX/ Aubertine Co-Sponsors Bill

Published: May 17, 2007
SPITZER GETS BILL LIMITING FARM TAX
ASSESSMENT RELIEF: LEGISLATION WOULD HOLD INCREASE TO NO MORE THAN 10% OF 2006 VALUE

Watertown Daily Times

By CHRIS GARIFO
TIMES ALBANY CORRESPONDENT

ALBANY -- Property tax assessments on farms will increase by no more than 10 percent above their value from the year before under legislation heading to Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer.
"This makes a lot of sense," said state Sen. Joseph A. Griffo, R-Rome, who introduced the legislation in the state Senate. The measure's co-sponsors include state Sen. James W. Wright, R-Watertown, and Assemblymembers Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, and Dierdre K. Scozzafava, R-Gouverneur.

Farmland in New York is not assessed based on its commercial value, as are most other properties. Instead, a formula is used based on the productive value of the soil.
Under the formula, better soils have a higher assessed value because they produce better crops.
However, the formula also takes into account the overall farm economy to determine the actual value of the land to agriculture. A complex process is used to determine that and is based over several years.

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