WHO WOULD BE HELPED

WHO WOULD BE HELPED

About 22 percent of the 3,139 counties in the United States wouldbe eligible for tax breaks under the proposed New Homestead Act,which would be aimed at encouraging businesses and people to stay inor move to rural counties where more than one in 10 people moved awayduring the last 20 years. The states with the most eligible countiesand percentage of counties eligible:

North Dakota 89%

South Dakota 64%

Nebraska 60%

Iowa 56%

Montana 50%

Kansas 50%

Alaska 48%

Wyoming 43%

W. Virginia 38%

Minnesota 36%

Source: Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,AP