Committee reviews H.134 amendment to add land‑use tax abatements and lower farmer income threshold

The Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry Committee discussed draft amendment 2.4 to H.134 that would add two new abatement paths to Vermont's land use change tax and revise several current‑use rules; the committee did not take a vote and requested additional fiscal and agency review.

The amendment, presented by Kirby Keaton of Legislative Counsel, would add two abatement options for landowners who withdraw land from current use: one targeted at land developed outside the boundary of a Tier 1 growth area that would allow withdrawal of “not more than 2 acres,” and another for land within Tier 1 areas that places no specific acreage limit but requires the withdrawn land to front an existing public road and to be used for specified residential housing types. Keaton summarized the package as “2 types of abatement under this amendment that would be allowed, for land use change tax.” He also noted the proposal places the new language in the existing abatement subsection tied to agricultural land enrollment (A G L A N D).

The amendment also alters the statute’s subdivision…