Bredesen cited hay baling to get big property tax break
Former Gov. Phil Bredesen has avoided paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in local taxes thanks to a 1976 law, according to a review of his property tax records.
The state law, known as the Agriculture, Forest and Open Space Land Act of 1976 — but more commonly referred to as the Greenbelt program — was created to slow the spread of urban sprawl in Tennessee.
Bredesen, who is the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, received $520,600 in tax breaks on four of his Nashville-based properties since first enrolling in the program in 2011. But on Aug. 23 — during the course of the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee’s reporting for this story — Bredesen requested Nashville Metro government remove the properties from the Greenbelt program.
As a result, he paid the city $181,700 for what’s known as a rollback — taxes collected by Metro Nashville whenever a property is removed from the program. Rollback taxes are designed to “recoup some of the taxes lost by local governments,” according to a 2009 Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations report.
After the rollback, Bredesen’s properties had a total tax break of roughly $338,900 since 2011. During the same time period, Bredesen paid $478,200 in property taxes for the same properties.
The four properties, which are located south of Belle Meade near Edwin Warner Park, have a cumulative total of more than 80 acres.
Bredesen — who, if elected, would be one of the richest members of Congress — was able to take advantage of the program because his properties produced hay.
Although Bredesen said in 2012 the Greenbelt program “ought to be tightened up,” a spokeswoman for his campaign said recently he was not ashamed about taking advantage of the law.
“Gov. Bredesen is not going to apologize for being a successful businessman and entrepreneur who owns property,” spokeswoman Alyssa Hansen said. “There is nothing to hide — he produced hay on his land, qualified for the Greenbelt program, and followed the law that is open to all Tennessee taxpayers.”
Who is eligible for this tax break?
Residents can enroll in the Greenbelt program if they qualify under one of three categories, which are based on the land’s use: agriculture, forest or open space.
The former governor utilized the agriculture category — the most commonly used.
Essentially, the value of the property is assessed based on its use rather than on the market value. For all other properties in the county, the assessors’ office places value on a property based on the open market.
The change in tax valuation effectively means that local governments receive less tax money from property owners.
Former Rutherford County Assessor Bill Boner — a distant relative of ex-Nashville Mayor Bill Boner — was critical of the tax-relief program. He eliminated nearly 20 percent of his county’s participants during a fouryear period ending in 2012, according to a Knoxville News Sentinel story.
In the past, some, including Bredesen, have called for reforms to the program.
After the News Sentinel and the Commercial Appeal published a series on the Greenbelt law in 2012, Bredesen said it “probably ought to be tightened up.”
As a result of his use of the program, some national and state Republicans have criticized the former Nashville mayor.
“Phil Bredesen has bragged about how he is part of a ‘more sophisticated’ world and Tennesseans are getting a look at what that means,” National Republican Senate Committee spokesman Michael McAdams said. “While Bredesen was criticizing the GOP tax cuts letting middle-class voters keep more of their money, he was gaming the system to save himself nearly $350,000.”