re: Should we Eliminate the Agricultural Tax Exemption

I've seen random arse subdivisions popping up in the middle of nowhere at quite a good clip lately.

Tell me you've never farmed in your life without saying the exact words.

quote:

---

If we eliminate the agricultural tax exemption, it would cause farmers to either sell their land or pay the true cost of the tax in their county.

---

Only the largest farmers could afford to continue farming in such a scenario. Killing competition doesn't lower price, it raises it. The reason programs like this exist in the first place is to keep farmers from going bankrupt so they can keep putting food on our tables.

quote:

---

In major populated states such as Florida, there is a shortage of housing. The majority of the state land is owned and maintained by farmers who through the agricultural tax exemption horde large swaths of land and refuse to sell. Because of this, developers and builders have to overpay for land. This causes a shortage in home inventory and an overall price increase for first time home buyers.

---

Why do I doubt the desirable land for neighborhoods isn't the same as the farmland in question?

Depends on where you are talking about. Florida, of course. Most development around Texas cities is at the expense of Ag. Kansas? Not so much….

I propose let’s keep the ag tax exemption, keep the market deficiency payments and get rid of the most abused, fraud ridden program in the US. Federal Subsidized Crop Insurance. frick I’m sick of watching people literally get rich, (not get by, not save the farm) I’m talking buying ranches, jets etc and never making a fricking crop on thousands of acres. ON OUR DAMN TAX DOLLARS.

quote:

---

Well hell son…. Let’s get the income tax brackets down too.

Why am I paying ES tax payments when people are getting “”earned”” income tax credits?
Welfare?? You don’t work. You don’t eat. End that subsidy.
Medicaid?? Sheeeeeet. Better get you a savings account for medical purposes. Other people are paying insurance.
Section 8??? I pay full price for a mortgage. Drop that crap too.
Also.. I want the same rate back on my social security than I’ve made in my other investments.
If you wanna dive in.. let’s dive in. I’d rather live in that world in my place in life. I’ll pay more for food if I can live in a 10 percent tax bracket. Bet your arse.

You wanna go back to 1870’s level of government support and taxation? Lead the way fella. I’ll carry the banner two steps behind you.

---

Dang.. I figured I’d get a “hell yea” from our new expert free market economist.

quote:

---

There’s no shortage of housing.

There’s a shortage of housing in some very small, hyper-specific areas.

Perhaps people should move elsewhere.

---

I've already posted against the OP, but there is a housing shortage across much of the country. Permits were held back after '08, local governments were slow to start reissuing, and a large amount of potential buyers held off because of the housing collapse in '07-'08.

Those buyers started hitting the market strong in 2018, when a shortage already started but prices hadn't gone crazy. Covid was gas on the fire, and shot demand through the roof while supply was still backlogged.

Now we have too few houses for too many buyers, not to mention most municipalities won't update their zoning ordinances for the product that most buyers want (first time homebuyers and retireees): Higher density housing, less yard to maintain, and more amenities.

Cities and counties need to update their zoning and allow for the product that much of the market wants. It's called the missing middle.

LINK

quote:

---

If we eliminate the agricultural tax exemption, it would cause farmers to either sell their land or pay the true cost of the tax in their county. Overall I think this would benefit the majority of people instead of a small group of wealthy land-owning farmers.

---

How utterly fricking stupid are you? You do realize that not every piece of ground is suitable for livestock and agriculture right??? So let’s put two and two together since you need training wheels to think. Since not every piece of ground is suitable farming, that means usable farmland exist in a very finite quantity. That means the food that 300 plus million here plus millions abroad comes from a very specific and known quantity of farm land.. Now what the frick do you think will be the result if you start taking millions of acres of farmland away from the people producing the food on your plate and throwing cheap housing on top of it?? For starters you can no longer grow food on it. Secondly, the remaining farmland can’t simply produce more to make up for the loss of food production. Prices then increase because demand doesn’t drop but the supply did. Finally all you’ll end up with is a bunch of poor hungry people in cheap houses because someone had the bright fricking idea to turn millions of acres of farmland into cheap houses because frick those rich land hogging farmers… Jesus Christ! Rant over

quote:

---

If your answer to anything is ever "we need to tax more," you are wrong.

---

That's not taxing more.

It's just taxing everyone the same instead of giving corporate welfare to a few.

OP does not have a clue regarding food production in the US. Wagering the OP has eaten in the last week many farmed US products. Probably at fast food establishments.