REPORT FOR 1012 AND 1913 51 



fied and subject to the special tax indefinitely until the timber 

 reaches the age of 70 years. 



When the timber reaches the age of 70 years there shall be an 

 assessment of the value of both land and trees, which assessment 

 shall be repeated every 10 years (or oftener), and upon this assess- 

 ment an annual tax shall be imposed at the rate of the general prop- 

 erty tax in the locality, but not to exceed 10 mills, which tax shalL 

 continue until the trees are cut. When the trees are cut the yield tax 

 of 10 per cent, shall be assessed. From the amount of the yield tax 

 shall be deducted the amount of the previous payments of the annual 

 tax upon land and trees since the trees reached the age of 70 years. 

 If the amount of such previous payments equals or exceeds the yield 

 tax upon the timber cut, no such yield tax shall be due. If after- 

 cutting provision is then made for planting or otherwise satisfactorily 

 reproducing the forest, the lands may remain under special classifi- 

 cation and taxation, as previously provided for "new forests." 



If the owner desires to clear off the timber before it has reached 

 a profitable age for cutting, he shall be at liberty to do so upon paying- 

 a tax determined as follows : The value of timber shall be assessed 

 and a tax computed amounting to 1 per cent, of said value multiplied 

 by the number of years since the forest was classified and made sub- 

 ject to the special tax. To this shall be added an amount equal to 

 the total taxes paid upon the land alone during the period since the 

 land was separately classified, and this sum shall be the amount due 

 from the owner. The property shall then become subject to the 

 ordinary property tax. The same procedure shall be followed in 

 any case where the owner fails to maintain the forest according to 

 the standard set by law as determined by the State Forester. 



3. Administration. Under this system the collection of all taxes 

 on land and trees except the yield tax would naturally be in the hand& 

 of local officers and the revenue would go into the local treasury 

 without further concern on the part of the State. The yield tax, on 

 the other hand, and the tax collected as a penalty for removal of the 

 land from classification or abandonment of the forest should be 

 administered so far as possible by State officers, presumably by the 



