Tom Cruise, Other Celebrities Take Advantage Of Colorado Agricultural Tax Exemption

One doesn't need to be a close observer of Hollywood to know that Tom Cruise is decidedly NOT a rancher or farmer. However, that's exactly how the actor qualifies under Colorado tax law.

The Denver Post reported earlier this week that Cruise--along with a number of other celebrities who own second homes in Colorado--takes advantage of an exemption in the state's tax code that allows landowners to pay lower property taxes if their land is considered "agricultural."

To qualify their land as "agricultural" for purposes of the tax exemption, property owners need simply to prove that they tried to make some kind of profit through agricultural use of their land.

The Denver Post reported that Cruise, for example, allows sheep to graze on his land near Telluride periodically throughout the year. He pays just over $400 in property taxes on land for which he paid nearly $18 million between 1994 and 2002.

A bill currently being considered in the Colorado Legislature (PDF) would allow tax assessors to reclassify up to two acres of land on a parcel of land deemed "agricultural," and tax those two acres at a residential rate.

The loss of revenue from abuse of the state's agricultural exemption comes at a time when--like most states--Colorado is struggling to balance its books. Last month, the State's Democratic Governor, John Hickenlooper, proposed $375 million in cuts to public K-12 education.