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Vermont equine industry urges change to current use tax definition to preserve farms and open land
Summary
Representatives of the Vermont Horse Council and equine farmers told the Senate agriculture committee that current state definitions exclude many horse operations from current use tax benefits and urged lawmakers to expand the statute to include boarding, training and other equine activities.
Heidi Krantz, former president of the Vermont Horse Council and chair of its Equine Industry Committee, told the Senate Committee on Agriculture on Feb. 20 that many equine businesses are excluded from Vermont’s current use tax program because they do not fit the statute’s current definition of agriculture. "Equine businesses are essentially a value added agricultural entity," Krantz said, arguing that the management and care of horses is the agricultural activity that enables boarding, instruction, sales and other income.
The request centered on changing the definitions in 32 V.S.A. §§3750–3777 so that operations where at least half of gross income derives from horse-related activities and that manage land for pastures and hay would qualify for the same tax treatment as other farms. Mindy Hinsdale, a seventh-generation…
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