FOREST YIELD TAXES 23 



period corresponds roughly to the rotation period of the plantations 

 for which the law was originally intended. The time limit in Missouri 

 is not as readily explained. Though required by the constitutional 

 amendment which authorized the legislation the limit does not seem 

 to require the practice of good forestry. At the expiration of 2d years 

 the land goes back on the general property tax rolls and the collection 

 of the severance tax on timber cut from the land is suspended. Thus 

 an owner who has no intention of continuing to practice forestry could 

 take advantage of the exemption of his timber from the property tax 

 for 25 years, harvest nothing until the twenty-sixth year, and avoid 

 payment of the yield tax completely. This possibility may not be of 

 much actual importance if the owners of classified land are sincerely 

 interested in good forestry. 



A nonrenewable contract for a short period represents one of the 

 conflicts between the desire for revenue and the desire for better 

 forestry. The short contract gives the State or county an opportunity 

 to insist on a higher appraisal of the land value before a new contract 

 will be made, and revenues are thus protected. But a short period of 

 tax certainty is not sufficient to encourage a large private investment in 

 forestry. 



PROVISIONS FOR DECLASSIFICATION 



The object of provisions for the declassification of forest land 

 entered under yield-tax laws is to protect the interests of both the 

 owner and the public. The owner may wish to withdraw his land 

 because he finds it advantageous to devote it to a purpose other than 

 forestry or to engage in practices not permitted under the law. He 

 may also find that total tax payments under the general property tax 

 would be less than under the yield tax. The State or county reserves 

 the right to declassify land if it was classified improperly or is not 

 being treated in accordance with the law. regulations, or agreement 

 between owner and State. 



Withdrawal by own&r. — In Mississippi and Xew Hampshire where- 

 all forest land and timber is covered under the law there are no specific 

 provisions for withdrawal by the owner. Clearing land and devoting 

 it to a nonf orest use would, however, automatically result in its removal 

 from the provisions of the law. Idaho and Louisiana make no pro- 

 visions for the owner's withdrawal of classified land except at the 

 expiration of the contract period. The other three States requiring 

 contracts permit withdrawal during the contract period. In Alabama 

 withdrawal is permissible after the contract has been in effect 5 years. 

 In Minnesota the conservation commissioner may at his discretion 

 cancel a contract upon written application of the owner. Minnesota, 

 in the 1919 amendment of the law. also permits partial declassification 

 of land needed for other purposes. Wisconsin permits an owner to 

 withdraw all or any forest croplands by filing a declaration with the 

 conservation commission. 



Of the other 7 States, without contractual relations with the owner, 

 Michigan. Missouri, and Xew York provide for withdrawal of lands 

 by the owner. The laws of the other States do not specifically pro- 

 hibit withdrawal but they make no positive provision for it. * Con- 

 necticut makes no mention of it. Massachusetts permits a new owner 

 of previously classified land to elect to have the land declassified. 

 The Oregon law provides for the cancellation of a contract by mu- 



