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Property Valuation and Review
AGRICULTURAL LAND, FOREST LAND, CONSERVATION LAND AND FARM BUILDINGS USE VALUE APPRAISAL PROGRAM (CURRENT USE)
In 1978 the legislature passed the Use Value Appraisal (Current Use) law. The purpose of the law was to allow the valuation and taxation of farm and forest land based on its remaining in agricultural or forest use instead of its value in the market place. The primary objectives of the program were to keep Vermont's agricultural and forest land in production, help slow the development of these lands, and achieve greater equity in property taxation on undeveloped land. Benefits for land enrolled in the program were first distributed in tax year 1980.
Participation in the program has grown as it has evolved. The two most significant changes have been the inclusion of conservation land owned by qualifying nonprofit organizations and the exemption from all property taxes of eligible farm buildings.
When an application is approved and recorded in the municipal land records a lien is established on the enrolled land to recover a land use change tax should all or any portion of the enrolled land become developed.
Currently there are over 15,000 properties enrolled totaling more than 2,000,000 acres. This represents approximately 1/3 of Vermont's total land area. |
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