FIFTH NATIONAL CONSERVATION CONGRESS 131 



technical competence and uniform policy, and sworn statement by the owner 

 subject to check and heavy penalty for fraud. The first is simplest, the second 

 is ideal in result, but either of these two would require expensive machinery where 

 cutting runs into billions of feet a year and is continuous. It is hard to see how 

 the frequently proposed plan to notify officials of proposed cutting a given num- 

 ber of days in advance, with tax payment prior or immediately following, would 

 work where the owner is continually installing railroads and camps, opening up 

 new areas, shifting cutting to get quality grades conforming to the market, perhaps 

 suddenly salving fire-injured material, and generally conducting the complicated 

 operations required to get out a hundred million or more feet a year. Apparently 

 there must be an annual accounting after the timber is cut, except perhaps in 

 certain classified small operations, and the owner's books afford the best means of 

 accuracy. This is the plan used in collecting the New Zealand income tax and is 

 reported to be satisfactory. Probably a sworn statement in requisite detail, with 

 access to the books for a check and severe penalty for fraud, is the most feasible 

 method of dealing with continuous operations. 



It has been pointed out that doubt as to what land will not be used for agri- 

 culture, as well as the exigencies of a large and none too profitable lumber industry 

 and inadequate State facilities, render doubtful the insistence on the Pacific coast 

 that mature tiniber tax reform be contingent upon State supervision of cutting 

 to obtain forestry practice. Nor is it as necessary as elsewhere, for the usual 

 cutting methods are less antagonistic to forestry practice. On the other hand 

 reproduction does depend largely upon fire prevention. It is practicable enough 

 to have a contract requiring both protection of the uncut timber and precaution 

 in logging. Such stipulations are easily made and understood in advance. Com- 

 pliance can be watched by the^xisting fire force. 



SUMMARY OF PLAN 



1. Owners of mature timber may apply to State forester for separate classifi- 

 cation, agreeing in event of approval to cooperate in fire prevention and apply 

 precaution in logging to a specified extent as long as classification continues. 



2. Certification of classification made by State forester to owner, county 

 assessor and tax commission. Assessor thereafter includes only land value in 

 annual assessment. Land tax paid annually. 



3. Forest material taxed only when cut, at rate (determined as previously 

 described), amounting to present rate on full value applied to full value at time 

 jof cutting and multiplied by number of years since classification, provided that 

 in 10 years and every 10 years thereafter tax commission with advice of forest 

 board may readjust this rate if necessary to prevent from becoming excessive. 



4. Provision for establishing value of cut and preventing fraud. 



5. State treasurer keeps account with each county, debiting or crediting each, 

 and drawing from or paying to county treasurer, as necessary to equalize excesses 

 or deficiencies due to yield tax system and its dependence upon quantity cut 

 locally. If, due to insufficient development of lumber industry, total yield tax fails 

 to permit satisfactory equalization between counties. State issues bonds to meet 

 deficiency, payable after increased cutting, stimulation of forest preservation, etc., 

 permit placing burden on chief beneficiaries. 



6. Penalties for bad faith. 



