New Ag Census Shows Disparities in Property Taxes by State

The big fight in the Nebraska Legislature this year is over plans to reduce property taxes, which has the state's farm lobbies pushing lawmakers hard for some relief. Numbers taken from the 2017 Ag Census show Nebraska farmers have more reason to complain about property taxes than farmers in nearby states.Farm income nationally fell between 2012 and 2017, and land values fell in some states during that time. Property taxes nationally for farmers went up $2 billion over that five-year stretch, jumping from $7.4 billion to $9.4 billion. The average property-tax increase nationally was $21.3%. Just one state, Rhode Island, collected less in property tax from farmers and ranchers over that five-year stretch, according to the Census figures.Property taxes paid by farmers are listed among farm production expenses on a major initial data set for the 2017 Ag Census, which USDA released last week.