Land trusts fire back at latest LePage effort to lift tax exemptions
Source: Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA, Maine A bill unveiled Tuesday by Gov. Paul LePage is the second attempt in a year to allow land held for conservation to be taxed, and an official from a top conservation group said while it wouldnt apply to a large share of land, its a slap in the face of land trusts.
Its a longshot salvo in the Republican governors battle with conservation groups, who sparred publicly with the governor as LePage held back $11.5 million in voter-approved bonds under the Land for Maines Future program for much of the past year.
LePage eventually backed down on that, telling lawmakers in December that hed issue $5 million of the bonds and backing a bill in January that revived the other $6.5 million. But he kept talking tough on land conservation, saying in a December letter to legislative leaders that tax-exempt, conserved properties increase the tax burden on Mainers, especially those who reside in less affluent communities.
His bill would change Maine law to effectively reverse a 2014 decision by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, which held that land trusts using preserves for charitable purposes dont have to pay property taxes in certain cases. The court ruled that land trusts tax-exempt status aligns with precedents dating to the 1880s and that more recent legislation, specifically the Farm and Open Space Tax Law, does not supersede that determination.
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LePage wants to tax land held for conservation
http://stateandcapitol.bangordailynews.com/2016/03/22/lepage-wants-to-tax-land-held-for-conservation/
Good morning from Augusta, where a new bill from Gov. Paul LePage is sure to rankle conservation forces.
The Republican governors bill, which is set to be introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, would remove the property tax exemption for land held for conservation or public access by 2017. With less than a month to go before the legislative sessions scheduled end and this being a significant policy change, the bill probably wont go far in 2016.
But itll touch off another conflict between LePage and conservation advocates that he battled for much of the past year when he held up $11.5 million in bonds for the Land for Maines Future program.
However, LePage said hed issue $5 million of them in December and supported a bill to revive the other $6.5 million in January.
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