FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 393 
forest area, are classified under its terms. This result appears due to 
the decided tax concession which is offered and to the effective 
administration by the State forester’s office in the department of 
conservation. The law is well advertised, and landowners are 
definitely encouraged to take advantage of its provisions. Prelim- 
inary to classification, an inspection of each wood lot is made by a 
qualified forester, and the owner is advised what silvicultural measures 
are necessary to make it eligible under the law, as well as other treat- 
ment that would be beneficial. 
A digest of the Indiana law follows. 
INDIANA. FOREST TRACT FIXED ASSESSMENT, PASSED IN 1921 
Burns Indiana Statutes, 1926, secs. 4771-4789. 
I-II. Properties classified as ‘‘forest plantations” or ‘‘native forest lands” are 
assessed for general taxation purposes at $1 per acre. If any oil, gas, stone, coal, 
or other mineral is obtained from such land, this may be assessed separately. 
Otherwise the operation of the property tax is not changed. 
VII-1-a. The initial qualifications for classification are as follows: The property 
must contain at least 3 acres; it must not have dwellings or other buildings thereon, 
other than a sugar camp or a sawmill in order to utilize the timber grown thereon. 
The trees may have been secured by planting, by seeding, or by natural regenera- 
tion and may be of any species except those specifically not deemed to be timber 
trees. The land must carry a good stand of trees, as set forth in exact detail in 
the law, without open areas. 
VII-1-b. The procedure of classification is initiated by application of the 
owner to the State forester, a copy of which must be recorded in the office of the 
county recorder. The application must contain a detailed metes-and-bounds 
survey of the property to be classified and must state the value of the land and 
of all other land in the same section outside of cities and villages as appraised by 
the township assessor. Such appraisal shall be the true cash value, including 
any mineral, stone, oil, or gas value. The owner may appeal from this appraisal 
to a board consisting of the assessor, auditor, and treasurer of the county, and the 
decision of such board is final The expense of the survey is borne by the appli- 
cant, the expense of the appraisal by the county. If, in the opinion of the State 
forester, the application and the property comply with the law, he immediately 
notifies the county auditor that the property has been duly classified. 
VIIJ-2. The requirements for continued classification are as follows: The initial 
qualifications must be maintained so far as they are applicable. No domestic 
animals may graze upon the property. The State forester is required to inspect 
the property ‘‘at any time.’”’ The owner is required to make an annual written 
report to the State forester. Transfer of the property does not affect classification. 
VII-3. Declassification is effected by the owner’s withdrawal or by the failure 
of the property to meet the requirements of the law as determined by the State 
forester. A declassification tax is imposed, being ‘‘an unearned increment tax’’; 
that is, the difference between the appraised value of the land made by the town- 
ship assessor, at the time of declassification, and its appraised value at the time of 
classification. The owner has the same right of appeal from the appraisal at the 
time of declassification as he has in case of the original appraisal. The tax is dis- 
tributed, 25 percent to the State, 50 percent to the county, and 25 percent tothe 
township. 
VIII. Any person violating any provision of the law is guilty of a misdemeanor 
and liable to a fine not exceeding $250, to which may be added imprisonment not 
exceeding 6 months. 
NONOPTIONAL 
Among the laws of general application the only exemption plan of 
the nonoptional type is that of California. This plan is automatically 
applicable to all land of the special class regardless of any action 
taken by the owner. The exemption, granted by a constitutional 
amendment adopted in 1926, applies to all immature forest trees 
which have been planted on land not previously bearing merchantable 
timber, and to trees that have been established by planting or by 
