Quote:
Originally Posted by Smartcar
If farmland were taxed at market value, you would see food prices go up, farmers go bankrupt, or farmland near the cities all turn into acreages. Likely all of the above.
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This is demonstrably false. In 2008, property taxes paid be farmers in Alberta were 103 million. Total expenses were 9.565 billion. So property taxes were 1.07% of total expenses. If farmers can't afford to pay their fair share of property taxes, maybe we should have less farmers.
As to food prices going up, that argument can only be accepted from people who are opposed to quotas. If you are in favour of supply management, then you're not in favour of lower prices, and your argument is garbage. Getting rid of quotas would lower food prices much more than charging fair property taxes would raise them.
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$departm...ILE/table6.pdf
edited to add: Farmers are also able to deduct property taxes off their income tax, so by that logic they should be paying more than residential, as compared to the current system where they pay much, much less