How will tax revenues be affected if lands become part of the National Wildlife Refuge System?
• A: It’s true that the federal government does not pay property tax on its own lands. Two factors help offset this potential hardship to communities. First, refuge lands demand very little in the way of expensive services or infrastructure from county government. Second, under the provisions of the Refuge Revenue Sharing Act (Public Law 95-469), the Service annually reimburses counties to compensate for revenue lost as a result of acquisition of private property. This law states that the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall pay to each county in which any area acquired in fee title is situated, the greater of the following amounts: • An amount equal to the product of 75 cents multiplied by the total acreage of that portion of the fee area which is located within such county. • An amount equal to three-fourths of 1 percent of the fair market value, as determined by the Secretary, for that portion of the fee area which is located within such county. • An amount equal to 25 percen
