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At least in Texas raising property taxes as such isn't the answer. Rather capping the amount a single owner/organization can claim in ag/etc exemptions, while making it easier for small 20 acre farms to claim the exemption. Right now what you have is the richest land owners paying the lowest rates, while owners of tiny suburban/rural lots get murdered. For example, I give you a few pieces of the 6d ranch, located on some of the most prime real-estate in Austin Tx. (Lot 4, 260 acres, $307 in taxes)
http://propaccess.traviscad.org/clientdb/Property.aspx?cid=1... (Lot 2, 155 acres, $278 in taxes)
http://propaccess.traviscad.org/clientdb/Property.aspx?cid=1... (Lot 1, ~120 acres + ~7000 sqft cottage, boat dock larger than my house, and a bunch of other stuff, $69,556 in taxes)
http://propaccess.traviscad.org/clientdb/Property.aspx?cid=1... The $70 thousand a year in taxes seems like a lot, unless you consider that I live a few miles away and pay ~15k a year for less than .1 acre and live in a house that isn't even as nice as the boat dock on that property. (if you google it a bit you can probably figure out who owns it, but good luck untwisting the layers of shell corps listed on the tax appraisal) |
Consider for grazing use 2-6 acres per cow is needed. 4 cows, isnt even a blip. Nor can you farm most crops meaningfully on 20 acre plots either.
On lot 1, most of the taxed value is derived from the improvements, not the land itself.