The Journal

Ohio Farm Real Estate Taxes High Per Acre But Land Value Is Lowest In Years

Tax levies on farm real estate in Ohio are the highest per acre since the early '30s. but the lowest in terms of land valuation since prior to World War I, government surveys reveal.

A new report by the department of agriculture says Ohio farmlands were assessed 79 cents per acre in 1946, compared to a national average of 46 cents, and 71 cents per $100 in valuation against a national figure of 90 cents.

Sixteen states last year showed a higher levy per acre than the Buckeye state, but only 15 had a lower assessment on the valuation basis.

The taxes per acre in the state increased six cents per acre, or slightly more than eight percent, over 1945, compared to a national increase of 12 percent.

The higher levy continued a steady trend upward since 1935, when it amounted to 65 cents per acre in the state. The levy was $1.36 per acre in 1930, $1.31 in 1925, $1.07 in 1920 and 47 cents average in the 1909-13 period.

The assessment per $100 in value has decreased steadily in Ohio since 1930, when it was $1.90. The levy per $100 was $1.53 in 1925, $1.11 in 1920 and 66 cents average in the 1909-13 era.

The index of real estate taxes per acre for the United States, using 1909-13 as a base of 100, advanced from 199 in 1945 to 222 in 1946, the largest increase since 1930, bringing the index to its highest point since 1931, the Bureau of Agriculture Economics said.

The index figure for Ohio last year was 169, compared to 157 the year before, also the highest since 1931. The increase in the state was the largest in one year since that time.