FIFTH NATlONAIi CONSERVATION CONGRESS 109 



"ThiSj^in -brief , is the normal tax system to which forests are subject in the 

 United States. Only where there has been special legislation are forests treated 

 differently from other kinds of wealth. Of the forty-eight States of the United 

 States, thirty-four tax forest lands under the general property tax in exactly the 

 same manTieFas~Qther lands: " — —- - 



"The other fwnndjiiii States have enacted special legislation affecting the taxa- 

 tion of forests, These States are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachu- 

 setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Alabama, Michigan, Wisconsin, 

 Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Washington (to which Pennsylvania 

 has since been added). The idea in the legislation of all of these States 

 has been to encourage the planting and cultivation of trees or the genera! 

 practice of forestry by offering special inducements in the way of re- 

 duced taxation. These conditions take the form of entire or partial exemption 

 from taxation, rebates of part of the taxes, or bounties to be deducted from the 

 taxes. The method usually employed is that of tax exemption. The plan of a 

 rebate is used in New Hampshire ; North Dakota uses bounties, while Wisconsin 

 uses both exemptions and bounties. In some of the States there are two or more 

 distinct laws, not always entirely consistent with each other. In inost cases the 

 statute is limited to plantations, and in five States the forest must be established 

 on land that is not wooded at the time. 



"The commo nest form of tax-concession, consists of a complete exemption 

 from taxation on both land and trees for a definite period of time, ranging from 

 five to thirty-five years. The exemption begins either immediately after the land 

 has been planted or set aside for the growth of trees, or after a certain period, 

 measured either in years or in the growth of the trees. In other States the con- 

 cession is by means of a rebate of part of the taxes for a certain number of years, 

 as in New Hampshire, or by means of a bounty of so many dollars per acre to 

 be deducted annually from the taxes on the land, as in North Dakota and Wis- 

 consin. Usually the owner is required to manage the forest in accordance with 

 regulations specified in the statute or under the direction of some State officer 

 or board. 



"Only two States depart materially from this general plan. These are the 

 States of New York and Michigan, whose legislation, enacted in 1912 and 1911, 

 respectively, will be considered in more detail below. 



"Four States, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, and Wyoming, undertake to en- 

 courage the growth of trees by offering bounties. Since these bounties, however, 

 have no relation to taxation, I have not included them in this discussion. Like- 

 wise, I refrain from discussing the laws of Massachusetts and Vermont, which 

 provide for the offering of annual prizes to encourage the planting and cultivation 

 of trees ; these prizes also have nothing to do with taxation. 



"The general typeof_forest tax legislation which has been followed by our 

 States untiTvery recently has faile d to prod uce any appreciable results. Of this 

 fact there cannot be the slightesTquestion. It isTniportant to determine the causes 

 of this failure. In the first place the laws contain many technical defects. The 

 common limitation to plantations or even to land other than woodland, largely 



