Sec. 2. Findings
272 words·~1 min read·
/bill/113/hr/48/ih/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Congress finds as follows: Land conservation and farmland preservation is an important national goal that allows farmers to continue to farm on their land, and allows communities to protect invaluable natural resources for future generations. Farmland in metropolitan and frequently high-cost communities is estimated to account for one-third of all farms, and 18 percent of this Nation’s farmland. In many urban fringe areas farmland is rapidly disappearing, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that approximately 95 million acres of farmland will be taken over by sprawl and urban growth in the coming years.
Farmers and landowners generally receive a significantly reduced payment for the sale of development rights and conservation easements than they would receive by selling the land to the private sector for development. In many instances, however, these sales are treated the same under the tax code. In areas where State law requires debt assumed by a municipality to be structured in the form of a sinking fund, farmers and landowners may be discouraged from selling the development rights of their land for conservation purposes.
Since sales to State and local governments will be in the form of a sinking fund, a seller may not be able to pay capital gains taxes in full when the seller will not receive cash payments until a future date. In urban fringe areas, many communities have made a concerted effort to purchase development rights to land. The land remains private, but the community gains by preserving open spaces and enjoying environmental benefits. Communities will greatly benefit by the Federal Government taking steps to assist municipalities in the purchase of development rights.