Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-Hudson), who is a member of the Agriculture Committee, announced that legislation she authored to help small and medium-sized farm operations in the Mid-Hudson Valley and Capital Region has passed the Assembly. Specifically, the bill would create a farm vehicle tax credit (A.7347-A).

“Just this morning at a Dutchess County Farm Bureau breakfast a local farmer told me he spends roughly $20,000 a year on tolls, said Assemblymember Barrett. “Our farmers simply cannot afford such high costs to transport goods on the Thruway. This legislation would provide them with a tax credit that would ease this excessive burden and improve their bottom line.”

The measure would allow for farmers transporting goods on the New York State Thruway by farm vehicle to claim a tax credit equaling seventy-five percent of Thruway tolls paid for the transport of goods and services during one tax year. The credit is applicable for travel for the purpose of selling within 150 miles of a taxpayer’s farm – roughly the distance between Albany and New York City.

“Many small and medium size farm operations utilize farm vehicles known as ‘box trucks’ to transport goods to major markets but these ‘box trucks’ are banned from traveling on the Taconic Parkway,” noted Barrett. “The Thruway is their only option; this tax credit will both help our local farmers’ businesses and spur the local economy.”