116 REPORT OF THE ]?0RB;STRY COMMITTEE 



no vast stored supply, in excess of any near-future demand, which must be held 

 whether the owner prefers or not; in a lower land tax burden due to greater 

 development of other forms of taxable wealth, and a relatively less burden on 

 the tax payer of today because, being older, many pioneer expenses such as for 

 constructing roads and public buildings — have been met by past populations and 

 expenses now are only for up-keep and for government. On the whole, although 

 perhaps with local exception, they also depend less upon forest taxation, conse- 

 quently can alter this with less fiscal disturbance, and have a less marked differ- 

 ence between virgin timber and new crop problems because cutting may often be 

 more in the nature of thinning rather than clean cutting. 



Under such conditions a compromise between exclusive land taxation and 

 exclusive income taxation certainly seems surest to satisfy all requirements. It 

 is the attempt of laws already passed in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut 

 and Louisiana, and of the measure sought in Wisconsin, with which tax students 

 are familiar. All of these measures, however, have been adapted to individual 

 conditions to an extent which may prevent them from being ideal models for 

 other States. It is our belief that this report should, while advising study of 

 each of them, present an outline for a plan which contains the most scientific and 

 practical foundation principles, free of any purely local necessity. We should 

 offer a frame-work which is fundamentally sound, has general approval, and, 

 while not relieving the local student of studying the public need of some change 

 to fit his State, does relieve him of studying those points required only by some 

 other State. Consequently we offer the following: 



PLAN OF FOEEST TAXATION FOR EASTERN AND NEIGHBORING STATES 

 WHERE MATURE VIRGIN TIMBER IS NOT THE DOMINATING TYPE. 



IN presenting the following outline your committee has purposely avoided 

 going into minute details as to the tax system or its administration. Such 

 details must always be made to conform to local conditions and must, there- 

 fore, vary from State to State. Our purpose has been to present, in somewhat 

 general terms, the outline of a sound plan of forest taxation for the region under 

 consideration. 



Where exact figures are used in the following plan, to specify tax rates, age 

 of timber, intervals of assessment, etc., the figures selected are those which appear 

 to be adapted to general forest conditions. Your committee does not intend, 

 however, to insist upon the exact figures in any case. They are presented largely 

 for illustration, and the principle of the proposed plan may be carried out while 

 substituting other figures as conditions require. 



1. Lands subject to special taxation. The special forest tax should apply to 

 all lands on which forests are growing and which are handled and protected in 

 accordance with the methods of practical forestry, as defined in general in the 

 law, which should be administered by the commission, board or officer entrusted 

 with the direction of State forest work. 



Lands subject to the special tax shall be valued at not over — dollars per 

 acre. (This value should be fixed so low as to exclude lands better suited for 



