FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 505 
By the terms ‘‘national public forests’’, “communal public forests” 
and ‘‘joint-ownership forests” are meant the forest and grazing lands 
which, owing to their desolate character, had not been settled. After 
the country became united under one king, the Crown took possession 
of these lands and they later became known as ‘‘national public 
forests.’ The people of the surrounding countryside were granted 
easements in the forests, and when several national public forests were 
sold to the communes (communal public forests) and to private 
persons, the easement holders still retained their rights. A forest 
law of 1863 provided that the ownership rights to all former national 
public forests then in private ownership were to be divided between 
the nominal owner and the holders of easements, and such forests 
were to be known as “‘joint-ownership forests.’”’ The public owner 
of these forests is now generally a commune. 
The average forest property in Norway is only 153 acres (62 hec- 
tares) in area (280, p. 50). he distribution of the total number of 
properties by size is given in table 146. 
TaBLE 146.—Norwegian forest properties distributed according to area} 
Area class Forest properties 
Hectares Acres Number | Percent 
Less than DED eMail iL ex). SPN ove a8 WesssthanuG 22. ors i ee ee 17, 451 14.5 
DERE OL Os ties ae ates eis rae CLE SU MMe LOU GeO TON oes ater e ee eG ay ne eae 31, 252 25.9 
10 to I SSIS Pvt Bre eee 2 LE 2 ae Wile oa PAS NO a) A setae opis SUE Se Se tat 27, 327 22.6 
DORLOLOO Rete ee Lee a Beek G2p COP 2a esc. Cia eae at PE Sc eee ners eo 18, 499 15.3 
OGM EOC ea ae ee ape de CD RR ED 2 24 CON2A eo SE a ea ee 13, 679 11.3 
TUONO) 0) ee ee DATE CO) AGA 2 eh ace NEIL Meee a ers a 7, 281 6. 0 
JOO EOL DOO eee eee ee Lee oe ae AGA COME 23 Gis creche rae aie ee ae 3, 756 ah al 
HOOK ORE OO ON a5 Series ee eeiep iy eee ee | ISG ntOV 247 se en ee ee ene. ales 843 ot 
A OOOME ORD? OOO esses eee er a ae DEAT COVA IQA Die eae See a nN 329 .3 
IMO HORI PHONO) 8 Ss occ ooeseebossoae More than 40420) 1a lu Aaa 327 AS 
MA GY BSN ei ag a I i le Dn Ue Pe ay ee a) eee dy 120, 744 100. 0 
1 Source of data: From (280, p. 50). 
Forestry gave employment to 34,070 peopie in 1920, whle the 
wood-using industries employed 36, 307, and the paper-manufacturing 
industries, 19,244, a total of 89, 621. 
TAXES THAT AFFECT FOREST PROPERTY 
PROPERTY TAXES 
The Norwegian national property tax is based upon the actual sale 
value of the tangible and intangible property, less debts, as of January 
1 of the year in which the tax is to be paid. The assessments are 
made by assessment boards on information from the owners. 
There are different rates for the various groups of taxpayers. All 
corporations, domestic and foreign, pay a property tax ata flat rate 
of 0.2 percent. Other taxpayers pay at progressive rates, varying 
rom 0.03 percent for the first 10,000 kroner ($2,680) o: ’ property 
value to 0.6 percent for the value above 2,000,000 kroner ($536,000). 
Since the base for this tax includes the value of shares of stock in 
corporations, there is to this extent double taxation of corporate 
property. Property less than 5,000 kroner ($1,340) in value is 
exempt from this tax. Under certain conditions the property of a 
