The reason: They offered their land free for bicycle lanes and the government wants to impose tax on their otherwise tax-free land.

Kuomintang lawmaker Chu Feng-chih said she is proposing an amendment to the farmland act to exempt these farmers from any more undue taxation.

Under the act, no land tax can be levied from farmers.

But some of them have offered part of their farmland free to village councils that want to build bicycle lanes for cyclists.

“Village councils have no money to purchase the land for those lanes,” the Kuomintang legislator said. “So they have to ask altruistic farmers to lease the land needed,” she added.

One farmer bought an acre of farmland in Taoyuan, said Chu, who was elected from that county.

“He was shocked to find he had to pay NT$200,000 in land increment tax,” Chu said. “It’s simply because the previous owner leased his land for free for bicycle lanes.”

All the government has to do to help such farmers is to have the farmland act amended, Chu said. “Otherwise,” she added, “altruism is punished.”

The Council of Agriculture is opposed to Chu’s proposed amendment.

“One thing farmers can do is to ask for a change in registration with the land office for that part of land on loan,” a COA spokesman said.

The land in question can be registered as non-farmland. After the registration is changed, the COA spokesman said, farmers will be able to ask for reduction or exemption of any land tax on that part of their farmland.

“But if the act is amended,” he pointed out, “we may be opening a flood-gate.” “There’s going to be lots and lots of trouble,” he added.

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