TAXATION OF FOREST LANDS 263 



or planted growth of trees, approximately three-fourths of which do not exceed 

 the age of ten years. The laud so classified and recorded according to i)ro- 

 visions specified in the act, is to be assessed annually at the average value per 

 acre, exclusive of the value of any wood or timber thereon. The timber and 

 wood removed from any such tract is to be assessed for the year following the 

 first of April after such cutting at the uniform and equal rate of 15 per cent 

 of the appraised value on the stump. There is an exemption of $25 in value 

 in any one year of wood cut for home use on a farm. The act provides in great 

 detail for the carrying out of these main provisions. 



The Wisconsin report, which is somewhat more extended than its prede- 

 cessor, although following the same general plan, after a description of forest 

 conditions in the several counties oL' the state and the citation of numerous 

 actual examples of forest taxation, considers the methods of assessing timber 

 lands. In this respect Wisconsin seems to labor under about the same condi- 

 tions as other states. There are the same elastic interpretations of the law, the 

 same inequalities of administration, and the same incompetence frequently on 

 the part of local officials. The views of lumbermen are given and make an 

 interesting feature of the report. The relation of fire protection to the taxa- 

 tion question is discussed, for it is well understood that these two must go 

 together. Probable returns from forest investment are considered and tables 

 are given to show the possible returns by decades in periods from thirty to 

 eighty years. The authors note that the fact that taxation has not materially 

 affected lumbering in Wisconsin in the past is no indication that it will 

 not in the future, and they say plainly that ''the possibility of the practice of 

 forestry by private owners depends on two things an equitable system of for- 

 est taxation and protection from forest fire." In making recommendations for 

 legislation in Wisconsin the proved inefficacy of bounties and exemption is 

 noted. For the encouragement of the cultivation and care of wood-lots, it is 

 suggested that owners may have tracts not exceeding forty acres separately 

 classified for taxation by application to the state board of forestry under whose 

 direction all cutting and removal of trees shall take place. Such land is not 

 to be assessed at exceeding ten dollars per acre and taxed annually on that 

 basis. Before any timber is removed from the land the owner shall pay to the 

 proper county officer an amount equal to ten per cent of the stumpage value 

 of the timber, provided that any material which is actually used for domestic 

 purposes by the owner or his tenant shall not be subject to such a tax. This 

 plan, it is explained, is to encourage and make it profitable for the small 

 owner, especially the farmer in the agricultural district to utilize a part of his 

 land for the production of wood and timber. 



For private forests without limitation as to area it is also suggested that 

 they may be separately classed for taxation, such classification being subject to 

 the determination of the state board of forestry as to whether or not the land 

 is suitable for timber growing. If it is decided to be suitable for that purpose, 

 in making the assessment the land shall not be valued at more than one dollar 

 per acre and the assessors shall in no case take into account the value of the 

 growing timber. Whenever any timber or wood is cut from such land the 

 owner shall be required to pay an amount equal to ten per cent of the gross 

 value on the stump of the wood and timber so cut. There are various provi- 

 sions for making proper returns and securing the state and penalties for mak- 

 ing false returns. The report says that "conditions in Wisconsin indicate that 

 a tax on the yield together with a nominal, annual tax on the land, is superior 

 to any of the various tax laws that have from time to time been proposed." 

 The authors, however, express their opinion that it would be better if no annual 

 tax were levied on the land and the whole tax were made upon the yield, but 



