In Colorado, some famous faces, names get ag-land tax breaks, too

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17553507#ixzz1FvhfctMJ

Tom Cruise, Goldie Hawn, Walker Stapleton, Charlie Ergen considered 'farmers'

Actors, captains of industry, an Ivy League astrologer, sports figures, politicians, energy giants, schoolteachers from Pasadena, Calif. All these are also considered farmers or ranchers for tax purposes in Colorado. They have secured low property taxes through agricultural designations on land they own even though they personally have little or nothing to do with producing food — the reason state legislators originally created a low property-tax rate for the agriculture sector.

In some cases, the properties where they have second, third or fourth homes were traditional working ranches before they were sold to the wealthy and became

:snip:

Actor Tom Cruise owns five parcels of land on a scenic mesa northwest of Telluride that has become an enclave of high-end vacation homes. Sheep graze around the mansions for brief periods each year, according to the assessor's office. Cruise pays just more than $400 in taxes for 248 acres for which he paid nearly $18 million between 1994 and 2002. He pays $11,380 in residential property taxes for the land where his $9.7 million home is located.

More at the link --

[Shiver]

1. He needs the sheep to keep away Thetans.

They get trapped in the wool, y'know.