More Than 80 Sponsors In NC House Lend Support To Tax Relief Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Will McDow, 919-881-2926 or 919-414-5293 (cell)

(Raleigh, NC — April 27, 2007) More than 80 members of the NC House of Representatives have signed on as sponsors to a bill that would give property tax relief to private landowners who want to manage their lands for wildlife and conservation benefits. House bill 1889 is expected to be introduced Monday, April 30.

The bill will help protect the state’s forests and farmland by reducing the higher tax bills that landowners now pay when they manage land for conservation benefits, rather than agriculture or commercial forestry. High tax bills can be a crucial factor in a landowner’s decision to sell.

“Having so many sponsors reflects broad support for giving conservation the same tax rates as commercial forestry and agriculture,” said Will McDow, forestry specialist with the NC Office of Environmental Defense. “Equitable property tax treatment gives landowners across the state something to cheer about. These are landowners who are reducing their income to protect land that provides all of us with benefits, such as clean water. These landowners should not be penalized for doing the right thing.”