380 MISC. PUBLICATION 218, U. 8. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
LAWS OF GENERAL APPLICATION 
All of the special forest-tax laws of general application may be 
divided into two types, (1) yield-tax laws and (2) exemption laws. 
As above indicated, yield-tax ’ laws exempt the timber from the prop- 
erty tax and substitute a tax based on the stumpage value of timber 
or other products payable when these are cut and removed; while 
the term “‘exemption laws” is applied to laws which exempt. timber 
properties from taxation under the property tax, in whole or in part, 
without substituting any other tax. 
YIELD-TAX LAWS 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION 
The forest-tax laws of general application which impose a yield tax 
on the timber in lieu of the property tax are 14 in number. These 
laws follow the same general pattern. Each describes the qualifica- 
tions which make properties eligible for taxation in the special man- 
ner provided and sets up the necessary procedure. Each indicates 
the modification of the property tax to be granted, such as the exemp- 
tion of tree value. Laws which require the retention of land value 
subject to the property tax often indicate how the value of the land 
element is to be determined. Each law gives the rate or rates of the 
yield tax, specifying to what class of forest yield this tax is applicable 
and the manner in which it is to be administered and collected. Often 
the conditions under which the value of trees is to be determined for 
the purpose of finding the forest yield are stated. Most laws permit 
the exemption of certain products from the yield tax, as those cut for 
domestic use. It is also usual to prescribe the distribution of the 
revenue from the yield tax. Many laws require submission of classified 
properties to some degree of regulation by the State, in which case 
the extent of the regulation is defined and the responsibility for carry- 
ing it out placed on some appropriate administrative branch, as the 
State forester’s office. Nearly every law prescribes the conditions 
under which declassification may be accomplished and the property 
again restored to the ordinary property tax roll. Often there is a de- 
classification tax imposed in this connection, as an offset to the tax 
concessions which have been allowed particularly when declassification 
follows the taxpayer’s failure to fulfill his obligations under the law. 
Usually there are penalties for noncompliance with specific provisions, 
general penalties, and provisions for appeal. 
OPTIONAL, WITH LAND Tax UNMODIFIED 
Twelve of the fourteen yield-tax laws are of the optional type; 
that is, no forest land is classified except on application of the owner, 
who thus has the option of permitting his property to remain under 
the property tax. The optional yield-tax laws resemble in outline 
the general plan of yield-tax legislation which has just been de- 
scribed, and, in addition, each sets up a procedure by which the 
owher may take the initiative to have his property taxed under the 
law. 
17 The yield tax as used in the United States should not be confused with the Ertragssteuer of Germany 
and similar taxes used in many countries of Europe. ‘‘Ertragssteuer’’ is literally translated * ‘yield tax’’, 
but it is really a property tax based on assumed net yield or yield capacity and is payable annually regard- 
less of whether any yield is actually realized; it has no similarity whatever to the yield tax as used in the 
United States. 
