by William (Bill) Campbell, Conner
Some planks in the Montana GOP platform are questionable in first reading. One proposes to tax family and other small farms out of farming. That would result in those properties being available to either make the big farms bigger or to introduce other activities that would benefit the real estate industry. This is a thinly disguised land grab brought about by taxation of a specific activity and is an abuse of government authority.
The second denies analysis as written. It proposes to exempt some farm property from taxation then increase the tax on other farm property to finance a layoff in the Department of Revenue. Meanwhile stating the results would give farmers and ranchers the chance to invest in “Infrastructure.”
On the surface it appears to be another proposal that would result in farmland becoming available to the real estate industry with the justification that it would allow farmers and ranchers the opportunity to invest in unspecified “Infrastructure.”
If the farmers and ranchers were not content where they are they would already have left. That is to say, without the experience of having been taxed out of their activities for the convenience of an unknown person.
In conclusion, it appears that both planks are, in fact, intended to cause the involuntary conversion of farmland to some other purpose.
To put it bluntly, the intention is to force farmers and ranchers off their lands by means of taxation to provide for the development of an undisclosed enterprise. The historical use of taxation for control has not changed in the minds of many in the GOP. Such mentalities have no place in positions of authority.
Leave a Reply