A Michigan Democratic congresswoman who doesn’t own a farm or agricultural license is saving thousands of dollars in taxes each year thanks to an agricultural exemption on her property, an exclusive report has revealed. New York Post reveal.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a three-term congresswoman running for the U.S. Senate seat to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, lives in Holly, Michigan, a rural village about 55 miles northwest of Detroit.
The photos “show homes, woods and fields, but no agriculture,” the Post reported.
The land on which she lives is fully exempt from taxes because it is classified as an “agricultural improvement.” Michigan LawImprovements include:
Any agricultural improvement, building, structure, or fixture located on agricultural land. Agricultural improvements include a single-family dwelling located on agricultural land where the new farmer resides or will reside, and any structure incidental or appurtenant to the residential use.
Michigan law allows properties to be classified as “agricultural” if at least 50% of the land is used for agricultural purposes.
Once land is given this classification, it can retain that classification even if the land changes hands or, as in Slotkin’s case, if the land is no longer used for agriculture.
Slotkin’s grandfather bought the property in 1956 and used it to raise cattle, according to previous reports. Lansing City Pulse.
When Slotkin’s grandfather bought the property, he reportedly ran 400 to 500 head of cattle, and the beef was used to make hot dogs sold at the now-closed Tiger Stadium.
Slotkin’s grandfather gradually sold off the beef company, and by the time Slotkin moved to the property as a child in 1980, the cows were “gone,” Pulse reported.
According to the Post, Slotkin’s father, Curtis, gifted the family fortune to Slotkin and her brother in May 2023.
Before Slotkin received the land from her father, the property was given an “agricultural” designation, which remains attached to the property to this day, saving Slotkin about $2,700 a year in property taxes, the Washington Post alleges.
However, according to the Post, there is currently no agricultural license issued for the land, and aerial photos taken by a drone show no agriculture-related activity taking place there.
The photo “shows a house, woods and a field, but no farmland,” the Post reported.
Although Mr. Slotkin does not currently appear to be engaged in any meaningful agricultural activity, Michigan Agriculture News As recently as April, it was reported that Slotkin “lives on his family’s beef cattle farm in Holly.”
Slotkin, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, had previously claimed during his campaign that he grew soybeans on Holley’s land.
Owners can petition to have the “agricultural” classification removed from their property by filing a written application with the Michigan Tax Commission, the Post reported.
In response to a request for comment, Rep. Slotkin’s campaign told The Post, “Rep. Slotkin’s farm has been in her family for three generations since 1956. She has been farming there ever since, and Oakland County has verified on multiple occasions that the land meets the terms of the agricultural exemption.”
Maggie Abboud, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told The Post that the reports about Slotkin were “not a surprise.”
“Fake politician Elissa Slotkin is lying to Michigan voters and pretending she’s a farmer,” she said.
The Blaze-News reached out to Rep. Mike Rogers, Slotkin’s Republican opponent in the Senate race, whose spokesman forwarded the communication to Abboud, who provided the Blaze-News with the same statement provided to The Post.
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