Agricultural tax breaks aren’t just for the benefit of farmers, but also for the exploitive use of America’s rich and famous. Yasha Levine of The Nation points out some prime examples:

 

Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers and the second-richest person in Texas, was able to take advantage of an agricultural property tax break on his 1,700-acre residential ranch in suburban Austin because he used the land as a private hunting preserve. The move saved Dell $1 million off his taxes.

 

Billionaire Steve Forbes put out a few cows on his estate in upscale Bedminister, New Jersey, and got more than a 90% property tax reduction.

 

While serving as governor of Texas, George W. Bush managed to get his lakeside home near Athens designated “scenic land.” The effort dropped his property tax bill to little more than $500. A few years later, Bush got an agricultural tax exemption on his 1,500-acre ranch in Crawford, Texas, which reduced its taxable value from $2.1 million to $950,000.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

This Tax Day, 'Farms' Owned by the Rich Provide Massive Tax Shelter (by Yasha Levine, The Nation)

“Fake Farmers” Cost New Jersey Taxpayers Millions (by Todd B. Bates and Andrea Clurfeld, Asbury Park Press)