Show T i Page IS— The Herald Journal Logan Utah Sunday March 14 1999 land as farmland and it's taxable Sell the land to a developer for Space residential land prices Continued from page and there’s a tax Capital gains tax is determined by the difference 13 Small “Preserving Family Lands" begins “For the family that cares about its land the federal estate tax may be the biggest single threat to the family’s long-ran- ge planning" One of the most scenarios when land changes hands is that of the family that wishes to keep its land for future generations The owners of the heart-wrenchi- land will it to their children Because the land has become quite valuable over the time the parents owned it tax due as it passes to the children can be so hefty that the land itself must be sold to pay the tax The land is lost to the children and indeed much of the money the land was sold for goes to the federal and state governments Result? No land and no money either between the value of the land when it was first acquired and its value now Income tax is determined by what bracket you're in They can add up to serious money And land in Cache Valley has become more and more valuable especially in the last 25 years Deborah Eshelman a certified public accountant in Logan outlines some tax consequences of developing land and using the money for retirement income and to pass on to children: “If you sell land to a developer you incur capital gains tax on land which may be substantial if it was acquired at a low price If you become a land dealer that is develop more than five lots or put in roads or sewers you change the way the land is regarded financially — it becomes part of a business with income and expense” By selling or donating a conservation easement the property owner keeps the land but gives up some or all of its value for residential or commercial development That reduces the taxes on the land Pendcry says “It’s a way for landowners to retain possession of their land and yet by giving up some rights retain the ability to preserve land intact for their children” Small writes ” You have restricted your right and the right of any future owner to develop the land but you can continue to live on it or farm it" Part of an easement agreement may even include limited development rights — four lots for instance instead of a possible 100 As interesting as these possibilities may sound there's a big warning sign posted: Do not assume one strategy or another will work in your own particular case Run the numbers Repeat: Run the numbers Small writes “Donation of land to charity needs the advice of an attorney experienced in those transactions” Well who in the world would want to buy the right to develop a piece of land and then not do it? Or even want to accept the right as a gift? The answer is a long list Charitable conservation organizations such as the Nature Conservancy and the Audubon Society will buy or accept the gift of a conservation easement So may some units of government Ward Evan Olsen introduced a bill before the Utah Legislature this year and last that would allow towns and counties at their own choice to establish a 18 cent sales tax to fond the purchase of land development rights Eli Anderson introduced the Agricultural Protection Bill so that cities in Cache County can set aside private farmland and preserve it as open space under new legislation passed in 1998 “The intent is to preserve open space and maintain the family farm within city limits” says Anderson Pendery believes bills like these that allow for local taxing authority and the purchase of agricultural land are helpful Instead of regulating by zoning he says “it's a way for the government to enter into the market place and buy what it wants” We all know Cache Valley is growing Why not? It's a great place to live As interest in'keep-in- g it that way grows along with it open land issues will be more and more a part of planning for growth “Preserving Family Lands” outlines some ways to think through the situation One of the possibilities is to donate or sell a conservation easement on the land A conservation easement is a way of removing some or all development rights to the land but still retaining ownership of the land Because you have separated the value of developing the land from the actual property the value of the land is decreased Why would anyone want to decrease the value of their land? The short answer is that any time the land changes hands it’s a taxable transaction Sell the In a bumpy Snowbirds feeling pinch from weak Canuck buck YOU NEED A SHOCK ABSORBER MESA Ariz (AP) — Fern doesn't smile when she says a weak Canadian dollar may benefit her shuffleboard game Plamondon 64 who migrates from Edmonton Alberta to Arizona each winter says an unfa- If fluctuations in vorable exchange rate has prompted her to cut costs by the stock market are too vehicle park where she stays “Our rent is $3500 instead of $2S00 We’re trying to stay at home (at the RV) and spend less money" Plamondon said as she arranged handmade lace at a weekly bazaar at the Good Life Resort Businesses throughout Arizona used to a steady stream of spending by Canadian snowbirds say they are being hurt by a weak Canadian dollar which is leading to fewer visitors who spend less and head home sooner ' JW! Guaranteed Great Rate r'T doing more free activities like shuffleboard at the recreational yMowvMAKncocwi‘ Wf v f ' £ ! much for you open one r of our Washington Mutual Guaranteed Great i Vi Rate Money Market Accounts Great because for at least And an alarming number of Canadians are saying goodbye to the Good Life altogether by selling their units according to park manager Marianne Weins "This year is very unusual Maybe we have 20 to 30 units for sale all by Canadians Usually we have about six” says Weins who is in her 17th winter at the Good Life The Canadian dollar hit a low in October and has ered around that level since then M f SS409CMMW t 5? ' 'f'- six months you'll get a surprisingly high rate ' guaranteed Not to mention V lit $iri easy access to your money 30-ye- ar according stock market hpww'''"'! kft yw morns Whats more if our rates rise you'll get the new even higher to Peter Dalton spokesman at Custom House Currency Exchange in Victoria British Columbia The Canadian dollar's decline means that between March and October 1998 American goods and sen ices became about 9 percent more expensive for Canadi- rate So in addition to having a nice safe place for your money you'll also get a good night's sleep for a change ans Dating back to October 1997 the American price hike for Canadians is 15 percent For many Canadians that has meant cutting back on winter escapes “They're calling to find something cheaper and for a shorter period of time" says Fred Farsh-Ic- r i a rental agent at McCulloch Realty in Lake Havasu City The sluggishness of this year's rentals prompted McCulloch to shorten the minimum rental period from three months to one month unprecedented in his IS years in the business "Normally by the end of November we're completely rented through April but this year's been an ongoing process" Farsh-le- r says Bonnie Bars ness president of CAU OR VIST THE WASHMCT0N MUTUAL RNANCIAL CENIBI FCAJKST YOU FDIC linuicd the Lake Havasu Tourism Bureau said the decrease in Canadian visitors got the winter season off to a slow start for rental agencies in Lake Havasu City but March bookings look promising Chamber of Commerce officials and the Arizona Office of Tourism recently made a trip to western Canada to try to drum up snowbird business I I W AMuilpminkgiMM(APY)licmnliitlWM APYfewMlMfCtaiiiMy tf MkKMMkliiiMMla HoMirmgli(krilMiTCnMlitAPVMippkNk((ckMimMi(iirrNpwWiMWlMwlWNNlM rtm m ov tor hi iccount Mine nu Md AfY lor Men IMr a guemlMd not to dicrMM Mo ta opmng rm tor M Aul M non iflw I itxourt tftmi I you change your iccotrt Mm a m In Mot 4 It pMl tccoiftng a 1 APT lor d t000(XMMtlt inf 4 45 kr MkncM d ttSJOWMH: 4 Mf 1 rw d 1SOOOSIIHI 471k tor MM 1 2 02 tor Mmcm ton tan I&000: 2 S0 In Mmcm d SM0MIM 4 00 lot Mmm ol t10D00-MN- I k 4 75 tor Mmcn d 1500000 ml sw Mmmm ( (Mynank nwji IMmM Mm k opw k $10000 OmM mu an Mtok k WA B OH UT d Wuhngm MuM Bwfe mt n 0 WT w UT WMkngkn IMud tat M tfunm MnuckM tnM appi tndf k you) t mtfi at ptnon by ATM wb)M k lundi IntorMl m hm r Mm 4 |