FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 539 
As regards the mature forests, though taxation may not have 
been the controlling factor in past operations, it is one among the 
considerations that determine cutting policy. Again, although many 
forest owners may have little or no interest in investment of capital 
in timber growing, there is a small group that is interested, and this 
group appears to be growing. A sound tax system would be of 
tremendous encouragement to all such. Moreover, among those 
who are not now interested, there are certainly some—perhaps 
many—who are deterred by the hazards of taxation. It has been 
shown, in a previous section (pp. 254-276), that, even though all other 
conditions might be favorable, the present property tax involves 
such discriminations and such ruinous possibilities as to present 
generally a serious obstacle to investment in forest growing on cut- 
over lands. Whatever may be the other difficulties, it is certain 
that general interest in forest growing in the cut-over and second- 
erowth regions cannot be expected so long as the unmodified prop- 
erty tax prevails. And even though reform of the tax system will 
not alone bring realization of the forestry ideal, it will at least remove 
one obstacie. Thereafter all those who see a future in forest invest- 
ment under conditions as they otherwise exist will not be held back 
by an unsound tax system. 
A brief summary of the essential features of the forest-tax prob- 
lem, the conditions which need to be corrected, has been presented. 
The goal of forest tax reform is to correct these adverse conditions, 
so far as that may be possible within the limitations set by sound 
principles of taxation and public finance. Such principles require, 
as has been pointed out in the introduction (p. 9), that the tax 
system must, first of all, be workable. A tax system difficult to 
administer without bringing in its train evasion, uncertainty as to 
the amount of liability, and outright fraud is barred at once. The 
operation of the system must not be too expensive in comparison 
with the revenue received. The system must accomplish an equi- 
table distribution of the cost of government. An equitable dis- 
tribution is secured when the current general conscience of the 
community approves of such distribution as being fair and just, 
after careful consideration of the relative abilities of the taxpayers, 
the special benefits which they receive from government, and all 
other pertinent factors. Finally, contributions to the cost of govern- 
ment must be made by all persons who have an interest in the 
government—in general, by all citizens and by those foreigners who 
receive protection to person or property from the government in 
question. As regards the forests in particular, tax reform should 
seek to arrive at a system of taxation which will require a just con- 
tribution from forest owners, while being of such form as will not 
place a special obstacle (beyond what any just tax must impose) in 
the way of the best use of the forests and forest lands from the 
viewpoint of the public interest. 
IMPROVING THE OPERATION OF THE PROPERTY TAX 
The preceding discussion has undertaken to analyze the problem 
of forest taxation. It was there shown that the problem arises 
almost wholly from the property tax and further that to a very 
great extent the adverse effects of the property tax, so far as they 
