The Rent a Cow Loophole
You read that right, there is a provision in the Florida tax code that provides a significant tax break for people who want to rent a cow. This has got to be one of the strangest tax loopholes I have heard about. You may get excited about the prospect of saving a considerable amount of money this way, especially for all of you cow lovers out there, though you should know that it only applies to certain types of land such as commercial property. Anyone who owns commercial real estate can take advantage of this law, but unfortunately it does not apply to residential property.
When the law was created in the mid-twentieth century many new developments existed, and law makers where pressured to find ways to protect agricultural land from unscrupulous land owners. Of the many strange laws that where enacted, the rent-a-cow one is definitely on the bizarre side.
There are some pretty strange laws that exist, but in terms of the ones that effect someones ability to save money, this is high on the list. The state of Florida losses hundreds of millions of dollars a year because of law like this, and many famous people take advantage of that fact. Simply put, if cows are put on the land to graze, these individuals can save a considerable amount of money each year and do so in a way that is completely legal, as strange a that may be.
The law was put into place originally to help protect farm land from greedy real estate owners. Any purchase of this land by people who only intend to use it for buildings can hurt the local economy and damage property values. Many prominent individuals and corporations use it to save a large amount of money. Walt Disney is saving $1.5 million each year from utilizing this tax break. Senator Bill Nelson saves $43,000 by having six cows on his property. There are many others who take advantage of this as well, after all wouldn’t you save that kind of money if you could? But in the end this is hurting the government and the taxpayers of Florida who are not able to take advantage of this, which I bet is the majority. There are good tax deductions like the mortgage tax deduction, then there are the bad deductions that only the ultra rich can take advantage of, like this one. This is a tax loophole that the government needs to end. If you are interested in learning more go here.
Author: KC Beavers
KC Beavers is a semi-retired entrepreneur. The subject of personal finance has always fascinated him. In an effort to not bore those around him with all his love of personal finance as much he has come here to bore all of you instead.
