FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 149 
Inequalities in the tax burden are due also to differences between 
counties as taxing districts. Investigation shows that the total tax 
on timber in the various counties of Washington ranges from 1.2 
cents per thousand board feet in some counties to 8.7 cents per 
thousand board feet in other counties. This difference is partly due 
to the governmental requirements and the efficiency and taxpaying 
ability of the different counties. 
Such differences and inequalities are bound to occur where local 
districts are financially responsible for major governmental functions. 
The possibility of overcoming a part of these inequalities has been 
demonstrated, in the case of the smaller taxing districts, by separating 
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FIGURE 6.—Political townships in Iron County, ec er figures designate townships referred to in 
the text. 
from local taxation the larger blocks of forest land, which, being 
uninhabited, have developed no local community interest or respon- 
sibility. Some more effective equalization of the tax burden is 
necessary than that which would result merely from better assessment 
practice. ‘Tax districts are not delineated in such a way that adequate 
public services can be financed by taxes levied at a reasonably uniform 
tax rate in all of the districts. 
TAX RATES 
Each parcel of real estate is generally located within many taxing 
districts. In some cases property is located within the minimum of 
two districts, State and county, but most often it is located within 
many more, such as township, village, school, fire, road, port, drain- 
age, irrigation, sanitation, weed, and mosquito-abatement districts. 
