Florida Amendment 2 on Tuesday's Ballot: Exempting Farm Equipment on Agricultural Land From Property Taxes
Amendment 2 would exempt tractors, tools and other tangible personal property used in farming or agritourism on agricultural land from property taxes starting with the 2027 tax year — a measure with direct stakes in Palm Beach County's Glades farm country.
BELLE GLADE — Amendment 2 is the farm question on Florida's Tuesday ballot. The legislatively referred constitutional amendment would exempt tangible personal property used in agricultural production or agritourism, and located on agricultural land, from property taxes, according to the ballot record compiled by Ballotpedia.
A 'yes' vote would allow the exemption for property like farm equipment or tools typically found on agricultural land, used for farming or agritourism activities and owned by the landowner or the leaseholder of the land. A 'no' vote keeps that equipment subject to property tax as it is today. The exemption would first apply for tax years beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson supports the measure, which he says prevents taxing agricultural landowners for both their land and their equipment, according to the voter-guide summary of the Ballotpedia record.
The local stakes sit in western Palm Beach County, where the Glades communities around Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay farm sugarcane, vegetables and sod on some of the most productive agricultural land in Florida — operations whose tractors, harvesters and irrigation equipment are exactly the kind of tangible personal property the amendment addresses. Like the other two amendments on Tuesday's ballot, Amendment 2 requires 60% approval to pass. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 3.
