Absentee Ownership of Farmland and State and Local Tax Policy: Income Tax Promotes Absenteeism, But the Property Tax Can Be Used to Strengthen Family Farms |
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| Authors: | Peter S Fisher |
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| Institution: | Peter S. Fisher, Ph.D., is associate professor of urban and regional planning, the University of Iowa, Graduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning, 347 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242. |
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| Abstract: | Abstract . The incentive effects of state and local tax policies in promoting or inhibiting the ownership of farmland by non-operators are evaluated. Previous research on the economic, social and environmental effects of absentee ownership is reviewed as well as evidence regarding the impact of tax laws on absentee owners versus owner-operators. The Federal tax laws, it is found, work to increase land prices, reduce entry into farming by young farmers, and increase absentee ownership. State income tax policies may reinforce these effects. Property tax policies, on the other hand, may counteract income tax laws by giving tax relief preferentially to owner-operators. Several modifications of property tax relief programs are suggested. |
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