- 11 - In a six-page letter dated June 22, 1995 (the protest letter), Mr. Bras disputed Ms. McConaughy’s findings. The protest letter covered in detail petitioners’ acquisition of the property in October 1987 and their subsequent use of the land under the CRP contract. The “Statement of Facts” portion of the protest letter states: Pursuant to the CRP contract, as signed by taxpayers on 2/3/88, taxpayers must meet strict conditions in order to initially qualify and continue to qualify under the CRP. Among those conditions are the following: * * * * * * * 3. Based upon their obligation under the CRP contract, taxpayers have actively maintained their property using conservation practices and other farm management techniques. As stated above, taxpayers’ farming activities are subject to an annual review by the local ASCS office. Taxpayers have purchased seeders, tractors, water tanks, and built fences to prevent adjoining farmers’ cattle from grazing upon their land. Seeding the land with grass seed and building shelter belts is required by the CRP contract. Taxpayers also have purchased water tanks and haul water since they do not have water available on a yearlong basis. They have also purchased a few goats to prevent the spread of noxious weeds such as leafy spurge and knapweed. The State of Montana currently is attempting to eradicate the spread of these and other noxious weeds. Again, these expenditures are dictated by the terms of the CRP contract. In the initial years of operation, taxpayers paid wages to employees for the building of the fence and other farm related work. Taxpayers filed the appropriate payroll reports with both state and federal authorities on the employees’ wages.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011