2021 Idaho legislation seeks to classify irrigation pi
vot corners for taxation. House Bill 252 proposes additional language to Idaho Code, Title 63. This language would ensure county assessors classify pivot corners as agricultural land.
Pivot corners are the parts of a square parcel that a center-pivot irrigation system misses. Idaho law considers land “farmland” and “pasture” as long as it is at least five continuous productive acres. However, according to House Bill 252’s sponsor, Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, some county assessors classify unproductive pivot corners as residential or commercial land. This allows counties to collect higher taxes for that land.
The proposed bill language includes land farmers use in tandem with qualifying agricultural land as those counties should appraise, assess, and tax as land “actively devoted to agriculture.” This includes pivot corners for center pivot-irrigated crops. The bill also covers land for storing agricultural commodities or equipment.
House Bill 252 unanimously passed the House on March 9, 2021. It is currently in its third reading in the Senate. You can track the progress of the bill here.
Interested in more Idaho legislation? Check out our blogs on the water law bills currently before the Idaho House and the Senate.
(Image credit: https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/100-incredible-views-out-of-airplane-windows; https://agfax.com/2019/01/31/texas-water-management-integrating-center-pivot-irrigation-control-tech/)
