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excess ot 1UU percent ot the land’s annual earnings. There were cases where taxes were several times 100 poewta* «* the annual nr» ings,” Marshall noted. Land use is an attempt to make “taxes relative in proportion to the earnings of the land,” he said.
Little Open Space
As of 1980, 47 of the 50 states provided for some type of preferential tax treatment for agricultural land, according to Marshall. Under Virginia’s enabling legislation, local government may allow land use on any or all of four categories of property—agricultural, horticultural, fbrestal and open space, Marshall pointed out that very little property in Virginia has qualified for use value taxation as open space. For land to qualify as open space, “it must meet a public purpose, be accessible to public use," generally under contract to a local agency, Marshall said.
After enactment of a local use value ordinance, landowners may voluntarily apply for the program with the commissioner of revenue. Criteria require a minimum of five acres for horticultural and agricultural categories and five year history of bonafide agricultural use.
Land values for eight different soil types are recommended annually by a state land evaluation advisory committee working in conjunction with VPI and the state forestry division, Marshall said. He noted, however, that the commissioner of revenue does not have to follow the committee’s suggestions but may retain the values he or she deems appropriate.
Taxes Deferred
The difference between fair market tax and tax due under land use is deferred as long as the property remains in a qualifying use. For instance, Mr. Smith’s cattle farm is worth SI,000 an acre at fair market value. At a rate of $1 per $100 of assessed value, he would pay $10 per acre in tax. But based on its productive value, the worth of that same acre is $500 so that in a use value program, Mr. Smith's tax would be $5 at a rate of $1 per $100. The $5 difference between the two assessments is deferred as long as Mr. Smith keeps on farming. If he develops his farm into a subdivision, however, he would have to pay a rollback tax equal to the sum of the
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