454 MISC. PUBLICATION 218, U. 8S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
the net income of a forest is not appreciably increased by incorpora- 
tion, forest properties could not bear these additional charges. Con- 
sequently the forest owners are asking that forest-management 
societies whose forests are operated normally in accordance with the 
requirements of the Government forest service be relieved of the 
special taxes which apply to ordinary commercial corporations. 
TAXATION OF PUBLICLY OWNED FORESTS 
The French practice is to subject all publicly owned forests to 
taxation. The Government forests are valued for purposes of the 
land tax (impét foncier) on the same basis as other property. The 
Departments and communes impose upon them the usual supple- 
mentary local taxes (centimes additionnels). The communes also 
impose the taxe vicinale on the Government forests in all cases where 
that tax is used in preference to the taxe des prestations. The 
National Government does not, however, impose its own taxes on its 
own forests. 
The communal forests, similarly, are valued like other property for 
the land tax and are subject both to the tax levied by the National 
Government and to the centimes additionnels of the Departments. 
They are subject also to the taxe de mainmorte. Moreover, in 
contrast with the practice of the National Government, the communes 
impose their own local taxes on their own forests. 
TAXATION OF SAMPLE FORESTS 
It is very difficult to obtain information as to the financial and tax 
situation of private properties in France. However it was found 
possible to obtain fairly complete information in regard to the land 
taxes in four cases, which will serve to illustrate the way the system is 
applied. The first two examples are located in central France and the 
last two in the southwest. Noneof these figures take into account the 
current depression, which has undoubtedly increased greatly the 
weight of taxation relative to income and value. 
PROPERTY NO. 1 
Property no. 1 is a privately owned forest of about 450 hectares 
(1,100 acres) of which 85 percent is in hardwoods, 10 percent in soft- 
woods, chiefly pine, and the remaining 5 percent in waste land, 
swamps, and roads. The stand is chiefly of oak, mixed with ash and 
elm. The hardwoods are managed by the usual coppice-under-stand- 
ards method, and the coppice is cut on a 26-year rotation. 
The average gross annual revenue from the coppice during the 
6-year period, 1925-30, was 168 francs per hectare. The cost of 
operation, with allowance for operating profit, for the above 6 cut- 
tings amounted to 65 francs per hectare. The general costs amounted 
to 58 francs per hectare, of which about three-fourths, or 43 francs, 
were allocated to the coppice, as the standards (larger ‘trees reserved 
for saw timber) are not of great importance in this forest. Thus the 
net annual revenue from the coppice, based on the 6 years’ experience, 
was approximately 60 francs per hectare ($0.95 per acre). This 
income capitalized at 4 percent gives a capital value of 1,500 francs 
