STATE OF NEW YORK
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1438--B
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2017
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Introduced by Sens. RITCHIE, AKSHAR, BONACIC, DeFRANCISCO, GALLIVAN,
GRIFFO, LARKIN, MARCHIONE, O'MARA, ORTT, RANZENHOFER, SEWARD, YOUNG --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations -- reported
favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on
Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the
Committee on Investigations and Government Operations in accordance
with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to providing a tax credit to
farmers who sell or rent their agricultural land to a young farmer
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 53 to read as follows:
3 53. Credit for farmers who sell or rent their agricultural land to a
4 young farmer. (a) Allowance of credit. A taxpayer that is an agricul-
5 tural business principally engaged in farming, as such term is defined
6 in paragraph nineteen of subdivision (b) of section eleven hundred one
7 of this chapter shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed by
8 this article for the sale or rent of their agricultural lands to a young
9 farmer, as defined in this section. Such credit shall be ten percent of
10 the purchase price or rental amount of the agricultural lands; provided,
11 however, that such price shall not exceed the fair market value of the
12 real property. A taxpayer who sells or rents their agricultural land to
13 a relative shall be eligible for the credit established in this section.
14 (b) For purposes of this subdivision, "young farmer" shall mean a
15 farmer who is at least eighteen years old and who has not produced an
16 agricultural product for more than ten consecutive years, where agricul-
17 tural product means any agricultural or aquacultural product of the soil
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07443-04-8
S. 1438--B 2
1 or water, including but not limited to fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy
2 products, meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products, fish and
3 fish products, grain and grain products, honey, nuts, preserves, maple
4 sap products, apple cider, fruit juice, horticultural specialties, and
5 Christmas trees and who will materially and substantially participate in
6 the production of an agricultural project.
7 (c) Prior to sale, the seller shall convey to the department of agri-
8 culture and markets, an easement, the terms of which limit development
9 of the land to agricultural business, principally farming, as such term
10 is defined in paragraph nineteen of subdivision (b) of section eleven
11 hundred one of this chapter. The easement shall expire not less than ten
12 years from the date of sale.
13 § 2. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection
14 (ccc) to read as follows:
15 (ccc) Credit for the sale or rent of agricultural land to a young
16 farmer. (1) Allowance of credit. A taxpayer whose federal gross income
17 from farming for the taxable year is at least two-thirds of excess
18 federal gross income shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed
19 by this article for the sale or rent of agricultural land or equipment
20 to a young farmer, as defined by section two hundred ten-B of this chap-
21 ter. Such credit shall be ten percent of the purchase price of rental
22 amount of the agricultural land, and shall be allowed notwithstanding
23 subsection (kk) of this section.
24 (2) Definitions. For purposes of this subsection, the following defi-
25 nitions shall apply:
26 (A) "Excess federal gross income" means the amount of federal gross
27 income from all sources for the taxable year reduced by the sum, not to
28 exceed thirty thousand dollars, of those items included in federal gross
29 income which consist of:
30 (i) earned income,
31 (ii) pension payments, including social security payments,
32 (iii) interest, and
33 (iv) dividends.
34 (B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term "earned income" shall
35 mean wages, salaries, tips and other employee compensation, and those
36 items of gross income which are includible in the computation of net
37 earnings from self-employment. For the purposes of this paragraph,
38 payments from the state's farmland protection program, administered by
39 the department of agriculture and markets, shall be included as federal
40 gross income from farming.
41 (3) Application of credit. If the amount of the credit allowed under
42 this subsection for any taxable year shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for
43 such year, the excess shall be treated as an overpayment of tax to be
44 credited or refunded in accordance with the provisions of section six
45 hundred eighty-six of this article, provided, however, that no interest
46 shall be paid thereon.
47 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable
48 years beginning on and after January 1, 2019.
