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Editorial: Lt. Gov.'s tax break bill unfair to countyhttp://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201110414031412:00 AM, Apr. 14, 2011
A special favor from Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey to a Murfreesboro landowner could cost Rutherford County millions in tax dollars.
Ramsey has proposed a bill to cap appraisal increases osn vacant land at 25 percent.
The legislation would help his friend and constituent C.M. Gatton of Bristol, who donated $5,000 in June 2009 to Ramsey's unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2010.
We believe in fair taxation, and the lieutenant governor shouldn't try to change state law just because he thinks his buddy will have to pay too much in taxes. The rest of the Legislature should stop this nonsense.
Back in 2004, Gatton invested his money wisely when he bought 318 acres of what was Rutherford County farmland for $16.2 million, according to assessor's records.
That farmland became Murfreesboro's fast-growing Gateway area. Gatton sold 99.4 acres of his land in July 2006 for $24.5 million for The Avenue shopping center.
But Gatton still owns 187 acres in the area, which has held greenbelt-tax break status. This zoning is designed to give farmers a break, taxing them only on the land's value for use.
However, Gatton's Gateway-area property shows no signs of farming, and just last week, the Murfreesboro's Planning Commission reviewed a plan to erect decorative light poles along Robert Rose Drive, right through Gatton's land. Also last week, sewer and road work for Robert Rose Drive was being developed and electrical work was taking place there, according to Rutherford County's Property Assessor Bill Boner.
Taking all this into account and based on the advice of state officials with the comptroller's office, Boner did the logical thing and pulled Gatton's land off greenbelt status.
Under greenbelt status, Gatton would have had to pay $1,928 in taxes on the property based on a $312,893 land use value. Without greenbelt zoning, he would have to pay $282,758 annually on land valued at $30 million.
Gatton is appealing the $30 million reappraisal, arguing the acreage should be appraised at $13.4 million.
But Ramsey, who admitted he came up with the idea for the bill after learning about Gatton's situation, wants to help his friend even more. Under his proposed legislation, the reappraisal would only raise the value of Gatton's land to $1.6 million, resulting in an annual tax bill of $9,701.
"It's not fair," Boner told The Daily News Journal. "I'm not against a rich man making millions, but he still has to pay his fair share of taxes. ... If they pass this law, it's not going to be good to anybody. It's going to cost the county billions in assessed value. It will be millions in tax dollars.
"Somebody is going to make up the difference."
And that "somebody," Boner refers to, is the rest of us taxpayers.
More than lost revenue, this bill is just plain wrong and an abuse of office by the lieutenant governor. It is a favor for a friend that could have far-reaching effects on our county's strained coffers as well as those of others.
Ramsey's legislation has not moved through the General Assembly's committee process, and we hope it never does.
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