FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 235 
TaBLE 90.—Relation of taxes to value of total assets for all corporations by major 
industrial groups, 1926-29 } 
All taxes except 
Federal income tax 
Total 
Industrial group 
assets Ratio to 
Amount total 
assets 
Million | Million 
dollars dollars | Percent 
Agriculture and related industries__._.._.__._--_.--_-____--.---_.--_.------ 8, 421 107 1,3 
IMininedandkquarnyin ga ele ee ee ee ee ae 46, 368 364 8 
IMAM UTaCtibin gee eee teins Leases Oe ee ee eee ene he ee Sel 267, 651 2, 301 9 
WOnStRUIC HOTS See RT AE OS ee OSES UR OEE Aa Pe Pee tA 10, 882 56 .5 
Transportation and other public utilities__.....-_--.-----_-_-_-_--______- 272, 976 2, 501 .9 
MIST CLO aaa eed NIM emer een UE SCs Min) a A EDA ALN NE aN RNs SAUL ee 82, 546 778 .9 
Service—professional, amusements, hotels, etc_.__..---..-_._---_-___---_- 24, 169 273 1.1 
Finance—banking, insurance, and related business___-_______---__-_______- 478, 785 1, 934 4 
INaturelofsbusiness mot eiven sss lees Se se Na eee Se ee 919 4 4 
Rotalu(excluding finance)a2 9s .se eee eee eee eae ee ee ee 718, 932 6, 384 9 
1 Sources of data: Columns 2 and 3 from (109, 1926-29); column 4 by computation from this table. 
The average ratio of taxes to total assets of corporations is 0.9 
percent. It will be recalled that the average ratio of taxes to esti- 
mated value of forests as determined from sample areas is 2 percent 
and that the average ratio for timber properties is 1.3 percent. That 
class of corporations which is most likely to contain areas of cut-over 
land, ‘‘agriculture and related industries’’, has the highest ratio of 
taxes to total assets, 1.3 percent. The ratio of taxes to actual value 
for agriculture given in the Census of Agriculture for 1930 is also 
1.3 percent (108). 
The reason for the lower ratios of taxes to value in the case of 
industries other than agriculture, indicated in table 90, is that the 
assets of these industries include many items which are normally 
taxed at a lower rate than real estate either because a lower rate is 
prescribed by law or follows from relatively inadequate assessment, 
or because the nature of the business permits a more frequent turn- 
over of capital than takes place where the capital is in real estate. 
RELATION OF TAXES TO INCOME 
FOREST PROPERTIES 
Thus far in the investigation of the tax burden on forests, facts 
showing the amount of taxes have been assembled, and attention has 
been especially directed to the relation of taxes to the value of forest 
properties, with comparative data from other rural real estate and 
certain other classes of property. It is now in order to make similar 
inquiry into the relation of taxes to forest income, with corresponding 
reference to the relation of taxes to the incomes of certain other 
types of enterprises. This relationship is the tax ratio (i. e., the 
fraction of the net income before taxes which is taken by taxes), 
which has been frequently described and employed in other parts of 
this report. The investigation of this topic is made difficult by the 
absence of detailed income and expense accounts of going forest 
enterprises in North America. The Yale Demonstration and Re- 
search Forest at Keene, N. H., furnishes practically the only such 
experience in form apprcpriate tu the purpose of this analysis. Tor 
