Clallam: Commissioners may slash tax break plan

Property owners who promise to conserve their land as farmland may get much less than the 60 percent tax relief recommended under proposed amendments to a county program.

Commissioner Steve Tharinger, D-Sequim, said Wednesday that commissioners are poised to reduce conservation tax relief to as little as 5 percent or 10 percent.

“I guess it’s a fairness issue,” Tharinger said. “It’s something we’ll look.”

The county Planning Commission had recommended a reduction of 60 percent.

Planning Commission members are recommending amendments to an existing program that could force the bulk of county taxpayers to subsidize conservation tax breaks for owners of acreage of 3.2 acres or more.

But the commission will still make the final decision on the proposed tax shift.

A public hearing on proposed amendments to a conservation farming category of the Open Space Land program is set for 10 a.m. June 19 at the county courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.

Details are in today’s Peninsula Daily News Clallam edition, on sale in Clallam County. Or click onto “Subscribe” to order your copy via U.S. mail.

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