House Bill 108 would eliminate a statutory requirement that the Department of Revenue maintain a supplemental manual to value agricultural implements and machinery not listed in the official valuation guide, and instead direct the department to value those items using acquired-year cost and depreciation, witnesses said.

Deputy administrator Robin Rude told the House Taxation Committee the supplemental guide dates to 1998 and would require extensive trending to update prices to 2025 levels — "25 years of trending" — and the department has been unable to find contractors to reissue the guide. "We feel that as the majority of other equipment, if it's not [found] in the equipment guide, then we'd like to use acquired year, acquired costs like we do most other personal property," Rude said.

Rude listed equipment examples found in the old guide: land levelers, grain drills, spraying equipment, bale and stack wagons, augers, chutes and portable corral panels. Committee members asked about substantiation and audit: Rude said valuation would be based on owner self-report of acquired cost and year, with depreciation applied; receipts are not required for routine filings but may be requested during audit or protest. Representative Durham asked whether ag implements are taxed as business personal property; Rude said they are class 8 business equipment/personal property for appraisal purposes.

Why it matters: supporters said removing the outdated manual would streamline valuation, reduce the need to trend decades-old prices and align agricultural implements with the department’s existing approach for other personal property. No opponents testified during the hearing recorded in the transcript.