MREA last week testified in support of the Ag2School tax credit that would help schools address the needs of their facilities while providing farmers much needed tax relief.
Ag2School would bring a fairer share of school facility taxes to farmers and private timber owners in 284 school districts across Minnesota without any impact on homeowners or businesses. View map of impact.
Gov. Mark Dayton announced the first week of session the proposal for the 40 percent credit on the taxes paid on farmland for school bonds. It was officially introduced at the Senate Tax Committee last week. Learn more about Ag2School.
Ag2School is among the strategies outlined in the Rural Kids Count Report to address the school funding inequity in Minnesota. About 20 percent of school districts in Minnesota have at least 75 percent of their net tax property wealth in agriculture land and one-third have over half in agriculture land. That makes it challenging for Minnesota’s rural schools to create the learning environments they need to educate this generation of children.
Ag2School is an important move for Minnesota that has received widespread support. It was in the tax bill passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support in 2016. It’s not often we get a win-win like this.
