60 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF THE 



ciples of forestry; for wherever such taxation is adminis- 

 tered with anything like a proximity to the principles of 

 the general property tax, as required by the Constitution, 

 the tendency is toward premature cutting. 



The problem of timber land taxation is receiving very 

 serious attention in many States, some of which have 

 already taken steps to amend their Constitutions so as to 

 permit the enactment of more jtist principles of taxation 

 such as are in force in the European countries, where forest 

 management is most highly developed. It is quite widely 

 held now, and is strongly advocated by the United States 

 Forest Service, that the true principles of forest taxation 

 are (i) exemption of the growing timber from taxation; 

 (2) annual taxation of the land upon its value apart from 

 the timber growing thereon; and (3) a tax upon the value 

 of the crop of timber when cut, which should be compara- 

 tively high (10 or 15 per cent) because this would be a 

 tax on income and not on principal, (i) and (2) as thus 

 set forth would be legal under the Mississippi Constitu- 

 tion, but (3) would not be legal, and until the Constitution 

 is amended so as to remove "this restriction the principles 

 above set forth cannot be put into practice in this State. 

 Therefore, instead of a clearly defined method of taxation, 

 which would place investments in timber lands on an equal 

 basis with other investments, timber land owners must 

 continue to look for comparative justice in the greater or 

 less leniency of the assessor when estimating this class of 

 property. 



Management of Tax and School Lands. — -In order fur- 

 ther to promote an interest in forest preservation and 

 increase the amount of forest land under conservative 

 management, consideration should be given to the tax 

 and school lands of the State. 



In most counties there are small bodies of land which 

 have reverted to the State for nonpayment of taxes. A 

 former owner of such land may, at any time during two 

 years following the date when the taxes were due, recover 

 title to the land by payment of the accrued taxes, together 



