Orlando parks avoid property taxes by claiming agricultural use

Posted | Contributed by supermandl

To save millions of dollars in property taxes, Walt Disney World has placed grazing cattle on its property, and SeaWorld Orlando and Universal Orlando have gotten into the pine tree growing business. But property appraisers in Orange and Osceola counties say the theme parks, and some hotels in Orlando's tourist corridor, are taking advantage of rules meant to help bona fide farmers by giving them cheaper tax rates on farmland. Theme parks and hotels use the rules to pay lower taxes on properties until the land is ready to be developed, officials in both counties said.