Star Tribune Sat, 09 Feb 2008 05:46:17 GMT
Developers find Green Acres program is the place to be
The problem, a new report says, is the program is meant for farmers in the outer metro, and the misuse is costing other taxpayers. Minnesota's 40-year experiment with protecting farmers on the urban fringe has silently spiralled into a vast tax-avoidance scheme that shelters $10 billion worth of land in ways that almost certainly are unintended and unfair - while doing little in the end to truly preserve farmland, the Legislative Auditor reported Friday. The state agencies responsible for taxation and agriculture both endorsed the findings, saying they hope the report becomes a catalyst for long-needed change. And one legislator asked openly whether Green Acres and two other similar programs should simply be scrapped.
[[keywords: LandUse;Metro;]]
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