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Many states have appointed special committees or commissions to 

 investlirate the subject of forest taxation and to recommend measures to 

 the legislatui'e. In Massachusetts, Ohio and New Hampshire constitu- 

 tional amendments were necessary to iicrmit state legislation along this 

 line. These amendments were made and adoi)ted by the vote of the people. 

 This is of special interest to us since I sliall presently show that a consti- 

 tutional amendment is also necessary in this state. 



Wherever commissions have been appointed to investigate this subject 

 they have urged strongly the necessity of special legislation and have 

 stated that the general property tax is not satisfactory in that it is unju-c 

 to the holder of woodland and gives uncertainty to forest in^ estment. 



Tlie recommendations made by the commission in Connecticut ar? 

 especially important in that their investigations were nuide puiilic after a 

 thorough study of the taxation laws of this and P^u'opean countries. I 

 shall quote them in full : 



"The Commission recommends the enactment of a law which will 

 include the following pj-ovisions : 



"(1^ Separate classification of forest lands for the purpose of taxa- 

 tion to l)e made on application of tlie owner, provided the value of the land 

 alone does not exceed $25 per acre. Certificate of classification to be 

 issued by the state forester after due examination as to compliance with 

 requirements of the law. 



"(2) At time of classificatioii, present true and actual value of land 

 and standing timber to be determined separately, and valuation then 

 established to be continued for a term of fifty years, with revaluations to be 

 established at the end of that period and continued for a further term cf 

 fifty years. 



"(.3) When classified, natural forest land to be subject to tax at a 

 rate not exceeding ten mills on both land and timber at the separate 

 valuations establislied as indicated in (2), and a yield tax to be levied on 

 the timber when cut, at a rate prescribed by law and varying with the 

 time during which the land li-ts been classified. Such land when cut clear 

 subsequent t(^ classification, and reforested either naturally or by planting, 

 to be reclassified as young forest under (4 ) if application for such reclassi- 

 fication is made l>y the owner ; otherwise tlie land to be t^axed at the 

 prescribed rate on the valuation already established for the whole property 

 until end of the fifty-year period. 



