State considers extending farming tax break for boarding horses

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Is a horse a form of agriculture? Or just a really big pet?

Saying horses might be more "farm" than "fun," the state of Washington is considering extending a farming tax break to property owners with horses and other livestock boarders.

If it's approved this winter, the rule change could be worth thousands of dollars a year to Clark County landowners who host livestock without breeding it themselves.

The rest of the county's property owners would pick up the tab.

Mike Gowrylow, a spokesman for the state Department of Revenue, said that since state rules were last revised, 20 years ago, it's become more common for farmers to raise other people's animals.

"It used to be, you'd breed your little pigs, and then you'd raise them and bring them to market," Gowrylow said Monday. "It's pretty obvious that the rules need to be updated to reflect current farming practices."

Whether horse owners will also benefit from that rule update isn't decided.

At the moment, Clark County follows the state's definition of commercial agriculture: "feeding, breeding, managing and selling."

If a business doesn't do all four of those things, it can't qualify for a farming property-tax break, which allows land to be assessed based on its agricultural potential instead of what it'd be worth after development.

But after holding two public meetings on the issue, Gowrylow said, the Department of Revenue is considering loosening that standard.

"Based on testimony, we're leaning towards revising the rules," he said.

A third public meeting is scheduled for Dec. 4 in Yakima.

To get the tax break, a farm must bring in a small income: $1,500 a year for less than five acres, for example.

Any such rule change wouldn't raise or lower state or county tax revenues. Instead, the tax breaks livestock boarders would enjoy would be offset by slightly higher taxes spread among all other property owners.

Gowrylow said the state hasn't yet tried to estimate how much money would be shifted, though figures suggest it'd be less than a tenth of 1 percent of total property taxes on Clark County lands.

Horse boarders and the Washington Farm Bureau say raising horses is just as agricultural an activity as any livestock operation.

"You have to have acreage," said Tarrie Miller, who said she raises beef cattle and boards horses southeast of Ridgefield with her husband, Roy. "You have to have grass. You have to have a way to deal with the compost."

For the Millers, the farming tax benefit probably would be worth about $1,000 a year. They pay $3,417 in taxes on their five acres, the county's Web site shows.

The 5.3-acre parcel next door pays $4,979.

Miller called taxpayers' subsidy of businesses such as hers "a small price to pay for good food, good livestock, a good place to go."

Jan Natale, who lives next door, said she'd happily consider boarding a horse if it'd get her a tax break like the Millers'.

"I'd probably open up my extra stall," Natale said.

Sherry Daubert, who oversees the farming tax break for the Clark County Assessor's Office, said she personally thinks that horses were once part of agriculture, but no longer.

"They're not used in the same capacity they used to be," she said. "No one's plowing. Horses are pets," she said.

Daubert noted that she doesn't speak for the office, and would enforce whatever rules are enacted.

Daubert's boss, County Assessor Linda Franklin, said she isn't sure whether a horse should be enough to turn land into a farm.

"It keeps the land from having houses on it, and therefore keeps it available for some kind of agricultural activity in the future," she said. "On the other hand, the original intent is not just to preserve it as open space ... but to preserve farmland."

Michael Andersen: 360-735-4508 or michael.andersen@columbian.com.