508 MISC. PUBLICATION 218, U. 8. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
DEATH TAXES 
The Norwegian inheritance tax is payable on bequests and on 
gifts made in lieu of bequests. The rates are determined each year 
by the parliament (storting) and are progressive both with respect 
to the amount and to the degree of relationship between the testator 
and beneficiary. 
TAXATION OF PUBLICLY OWNED FORESTS 
Forests belonging to the national government and to the educa- 
tional fund are not exempt from communal taxes. The same applie- 
to national waterpowers, factories, and other plants which are unders 
taken for profit in excess of what serves the purpose of public utility. 
Forests belonging to a commune are not exempt from national taxes, 
and forests belonging to the Norges Bank are not exempt from 
communal taxes. 
EFFECT OF TAXATION ON THE PRACTICE OF FORESTRY 
The provision of the Norwegian income tax dealing with the taxa- 
tion of an assumed income from a forest property is of particular 
interest to the student of forest taxation. The clear cutting of forests 
is the exception rather than the rule in Norway; therefore most of the 
forests come under this provision. From the standpoint of the 
government, the main advantage claimed for the method of assumed 
income taxation is that it assures a fairly even and regular flow of 
revenue to the local governments in densely forested localities where 
forest property is the most important element in the tax base. The 
chief advantage to the forest owner is that he avoids the progression 
in rates which would pertain in certain years if the net income were 
taxed when it is actually received. His taxes are also fairly uniform 
from year to year, so that he may base his calculations for the near 
future on present taxes, giving a practical basis for the calculations 
necessary for the purchase or sale of forest properties. The assess- 
ment also serves as a guide in settling estates. 
In spite of the apparent advantages of this system, both to the 
governments and to the owner, it has not been a success in recent 
years. ‘The reason is that obscurely written laws with vague defini- 
tions of vital concepts, such as what constitutes taxable income, leave 
full opportunity for the application of widely divergent interpreta- 
tions by the various tax boards. 
The main requisite for the success of tax methods based on assumed 
income is that the assessment be properly made. In Norway the tax 
boards which do the assessing are usually made up of political ap- 
pointees having but little or no knowledge or experience in forest 
valuation. The boards are given wide powers under the law and, 
since they are not always unbiased or well informed in making their 
assessments, there is a lack of uniformity in the tax burden resting 
on forest properties, not only as between individual taxpayers, but 
also as between districts. The wide choice of interest rates at which 
assumed income may be calculated (2 to 7 percent), coupled with the 
high tax rates levied by numerous districts, serve to increase these 
differences. 
A change was made in the tax law in 1930, the purpose of which 
was to improve assessments. It provides that a forest be assessed 
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