FUTURE; IN FOREST TAXATION 119 



Of late the application of the single tax has strongly been ad- 

 vocated for forests as well as other real property. The single tax 

 is well suited to forestry; it would stimulate the accumulation of a 

 good growing stock and the making of improvements, roads, proper 

 division, etc., and so put a premium on good forestry. The action 

 of the single tax in forestry is exactly the same as in farming, where 

 it stimulates building and keeping of plenty live stock, while the 

 present form, the property tax, in a way penalizes the good farmer 

 with fine buildings and plenty of stock and machinery. But in no 

 case should the crop, or timber and land be taxed together, as has 

 at times been advocated by single taxers. For the existing virgin 

 forest where the owner merely holds a stored mass of merchantable 

 timber and is in no way practicing forestry and where the public is 

 determined to make the owner divide the goods, practically given 

 away by the people, there is nothing for it but to devise some com- 

 promise. Here the simple property tax as now applied, or a com- 

 bination as is represented in the Connecticut law is probably as good 

 as any other. 



h. Future in forest taxation. 



i. A yield tax is inconvenient. The owner of a small forest 

 cutting 1 a few poles or a few cords of wood finds it bothersome to 

 record and report. This leads to exemption for domestic use, as is 

 done in the Connecticut law. But it is hard to set limits in these 

 exemptions, they lead to confusion and bad practice. With large 

 owners it becomes necessary to take the word of the owner, it pries 

 into his affairs and has all the objections commonly claimed for in- 

 come taxes. The local tax official has added a great deal to his 

 labor and where the matter is left optional it involves inspection of 

 state foresters who lack help, money and experience. 



For a regulated forest property there is no occasion to use a 

 yield tax ; it can be assessed as easily as a farm and taxed in exactly 

 the same way. 



For isolated tracts, not really managed as forest it may bridge 

 over, but is not satisfactory enough to recommend for permanent 

 practice. To receive a yield tax once in eighty years introduces too 

 many chances for cheating the buyer of such property and the com- 

 munity. 



For a beginning the yield tax is to be recommended to get away 

 from the present methods, but the tax collecting practice in rural 

 properties will work for a return to the property tax, properly regu- 

 lated by computations based on actual income. 



