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S.B. 139
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PROPERTY TAX - FARMLAND ASSESSMENT
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ACT AMENDMENTS
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2000 GENERAL SESSION
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STATE OF UTAH
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Sponsor: Pete Suazo
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AN ACT RELATING TO REVENUE AND TAXATION; AMENDING THE
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QUALIFICATIONS FOR ASSESSMENT AS AGRICULTURAL LAND; AND MAKING
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TECHNICAL CHANGES.
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This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
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AMENDS:
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59-2-503, as last amended by Chapter 235, Laws of Utah 1992
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Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
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Section 1.
Section
59-2-503
is amended to read:
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59-2-503. Qualifications for agricultural use valuation.
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(1) For general property tax purposes, land may be assessed based on the value which the
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land has for agricultural use if the land:
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(a) is not less than five contiguous acres in area, except [where devoted to agricultural use
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in conjunction with other eligible acreage or as provided under Subsection (4)]:
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(i) land that was previously assessed for agricultural use under this section and would be
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not less than five contiguous acres but for an eminent domain proceeding; or
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(ii) as provided in Subsection (4);
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(b) is actively devoted to agricultural use; and
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(c) has been actively devoted to agricultural use for at least two successive years
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immediately preceding the tax year in issue.
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(2) (a) For the purpose of Subsection (1), "actively devoted to agricultural use" means that
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the land produces in excess of 50% of the average agricultural production per acre for the given
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type of land and the given county or area.
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(b) For the purpose of determining production levels for a given county or area and a given
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type of land the first applicable of the following established authorities shall be used:
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(i) production levels reported in the current publication of the Utah Agricultural Statistics;
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(ii) current crop budgets developed and published by Utah State University; and
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(iii) other acceptable standards of agricultural production designated by the commission
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by rule adopted in accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
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(3) Land may also be assessed based on its agricultural value if the land is:
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(a) subject to the privilege tax imposed by Section
59-4-101
;
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(b) owned by the state or any of its political subdivisions; and
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(c) meets the requirements of Subsection (1).
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(4) The commission may grant a waiver of the acreage limitation upon appeal by the owner
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and submission of proof that 80% or more of the owner's, purchaser's, or lessee's income is derived
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from agricultural products produced on the property in question.
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(5) The commission may grant a waiver of the agricultural production requirements for
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the tax year in issue upon appeal by the owner and submission of proof that:
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(a) the land was valued on the basis of agricultural use for at least two years immediately
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preceding that tax year; and
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(b) the failure to meet the agricultural production requirements for that tax year was due
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to no fault or act of the owner, purchaser, or lessee.
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(6) As used in Subsection (5)(b), "fault" does not include any of the following:
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(a) intentional planting of crops or trees which, because of the maturation period do not
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give the owner, purchaser, or lessee a reasonable opportunity to satisfy the production level
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requirement; or
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(b) implementation of a bona-fide range improvement program, crop rotation program, or
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other similar accepted cultural practices which do not give the owner, purchaser, or lessee a
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reasonable opportunity to satisfy the production level requirement.
Legislative Review Note
as of 1-20-00 5:25 PM
A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.