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Secondly, the Hanson amendment will do
no more than this. The Hanson amendment,
it is suggested, will close loop-holes, will
stop abuses. I say to you with all the sin-
cerity that I can command that the Com-
mittee's recommendation will do exactly the
same thing. There is no difference between
the Hanson amendment and the Committee
amendment in this area.
Now, thirdly, in answer to Delegate
Scanlan's point, I should read to you what
I think would be proper statutory language
if the Committee recommendation is passed.
I would write, if I were writing the statute,
the following:
"The General Assembly hereby declares
it to be the general public interest that
farming be fostered and encouraged in
order to maintain a readily available
source of food and dairy products close
to the metropolitan areas of the State, to
encourage the preservation of open spaces
as an amenity necessary to human wel-
fare and happiness, and to prevent the
forced conversion of open spaces to a
more intensive use as a result of eco-
nomic pressures caused by the assess-
ment of land at a rate or level incom-
patible with the practical use of the land
for farming. The State Department of
Assessments and Taxation shall establish
criteria for the purpose of determining
whether lands which appear to be ac-
tively devoted to farm or agricultural
use are in fact bona fide farms and
qualified for the assessment under this
section. Such criteria shall be promul-
gated in the rules and regulations which
may include but shall not be limited to
the following:
First, the business activities of the
owner on and off the subject property.
Secondly, the zoning applicable to the
subject land.
Thirdly, the past use of the land, in-
cluding its soil bank provisions.
Fourth, the productivity of the land.
Fifth, the ratio of farm or agricultural
use as against other uses of the land."
I answer clearly and unequivocally to
Delegate Scanlan that one of the criteria
could and certainly should be the business
activity of the owner off and on the land.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any further
discussion?
Delegate Dulany.
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DELEGATE DULANY: Mr. Chairman,
and fellow delegates, I would like to speak
in opposition to the amendment.
I think most of the points have been
made but I would like to make three points:
First, in the assessment of any farm, the
dwelling house and lot around the dwelling
house are assessed at its market value for
that purpose to the farmer, so he does pay
the same tax as other residents in the
County on his dwelling house.
Secondly, the legislature has recently en-
acted a capital gains tax, so to that extent
anyone making a substantial profit on his
farm is taxed on the gain.
Finally, I would like to say we have, I
have seen personally many experiences in
our county, we have a serious problem
when a farm passes in the administration
of estates. Many times, there are substan-
tial federal estate taxes as well as Mary-
land state and inheritance taxes to pay.
We may have a farmer who has earned
$5,000 to $10,000 a year income on his
farm and when he dies, the farm is ap-
praised at $150,000 or $200,000, although
it is intended to be continued for farming-
purposes, many times the family has to
borrow money against the farm to pay in-
heritance and estate taxes.
I want you to realize the farmers and
people in the county do pay taxes, a sub-
stantial amount of taxes. I urge you to
defeat the amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
DELEGATE MORGAN: Mr. Chairman,
I rise in opposition to the amendment. Does
somebody want to speak in favor of the
amendment?
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair inquired
— there were none.
Delegate Hanson, do you desire to speak
again?
DELEGATE HANSON: Just one min-
ute, Mr. Chairman. To point out that while
Mr. Case's statement of what he would
prefer to be in the statute may be an ad-
mirable one, the fact before us is, Mr. Case
is not writing the statute but that we, Mr.
Case among us, are writing the constitu-
tion. What we need in the constitution is
the maximum amount of flexibility for the
legislature to deal with what those of us
on both sides of this particular issue agree
is a very serious problem of extensive
abuses of law as it now stands.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
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