LandThink

The phone call came in cold, three weeks ago. A major gas company was offering $10,000 to buy a 50-foot-wide, pipeline right-of-way easement over about a half mile of timberland I own with three others.

When you buy land, you need to establish your “basis” for tax purposes. Starting basis is basically your purchase price, plus, perhaps, certain expenses that you incurred.

A boom is happening in places with oil and gas reserves. Deep “plays” are now economically feasible where they weren’t two years ago when oil was a lot cheaper.

Everyone likes a swimming pond. A couple of willows weep majestically. Spring Peepers put on their heavy-metal show at night, keeping the old folks up and giving the young ones the wrong idea.

Readers might take a look at the two presidential campaign websites to see which candidate appears to understand land issues best (or if at all). Tax policy is often used by the government to discourage and encourage certain behaviors. How each of us defines the best interest of the country determines what our tax-policy preferences are.