7 



Il8 FOREST VALUATION 



Current yearly expenses $i per acre; cost of planting, $10 per 

 acre. 



Tax rate, 12 per 1,000 as being about average for rural prop- 

 erty in the United States. 



Relation of property tax at 12 per 1,000 and yield tax in regu- 

 lated forest. 



Rotation, years. 50 



100 



Minimum number of acres in regulated forest, 



i. e., r acres 50 75 100 



Yearly gross income from r acres, neglect 



thinnings $200 $400 $600 



Yearly expenses on r acres, current and plant- 

 ing $ 60 $ 85 $ 1 10 



Yearly net income from r acres $ 140 $ 315 $ 490 



Value of the r acres regulated forest, i. e., net 



income capitalized at ten per cent $1400 $3150 $4900 



Taxes, as property tax at rate of 12 per 1000 



on r acres $ 16.80 $ 37.80 $ 58.80 



Property tax, 12 per looo, per acre $ 0.33 $ 0.50 $ 0.58 



Property tax of 12 per 1000 as a per cent of 



stumpage cut, or Yr 8.4% 9-4% 9.8% 



Property tax of 12 per 1000 as a per cent of 



net income 12% 12% 12% 



It is evident from the above that a twelve per mill tax on the 

 true value of a regulated forest corresponds closely to a yield tax 

 of nine or ten per cent of the stumpage value of the timber. 



The introduction of the land tax disturbs the simplicity and 

 even the justice of the yield tax method since land values differ and 

 this difference is not always made up by the diif erence in final yield. 

 On lands where the timber grows slowly and requires about one 

 hundred years to reach marketable size the yearly land tax on five 

 dollar land even at twelve per mill and compounded at as low as 

 three per cent reaches the formidable sum of over thirty-six dollars 

 an acre, a sum which would seriously discourage the planting of 

 bare lands and frequently exceed the ten per cent yield tax. For 

 some time to come and only as an expedient to bring about some 

 tolerable reform the land tax may be necessary, but a tax rate not 

 to exceed ten per mill should then be employed. Cases like parks 

 and costly estates in the vicinity of cities should receive special treat- 

 ment and be taxed by the ordinary tax method. 



