FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES ool 
sort of tax-collection procedure which, with suitable adaptations to 
local conditions, might meet the problem in most of the States. 
Ten basic principles which, according to the committee, should be 
embodied in an improved tax-collection procedure are as follows: 
(1) The whole business of tax payment should be promptly brought 
to definite termination, by payment or foreclosure and transfer of 
clear title, rather than allowed to drag on by sale of liens, certificates, 
deeds, etc., with long and indefinite periods for redemption. The sale 
should be a sale of the property itself and not a sale of a tax certificate 
or lien. (2) The law should specifically state that there shall be no 
extensions. (3) Collection should be concentrated in the county, 
city, or corresponding jurisdiction. (4) The collecting officer should 
be appointed, not elected. The fee system should be abolished. 
(5) A local bank or some other local agency should be appointed as 
local receiver where required by the convenience of the taxpayers. 
(6) Tax bills should be sent to every taxpayer. (7) A tax bill should 
be prepared for each piece of real estate and one for the personal prop- 
erty of each owner. Where convenient, the bills of each taxpayer 
should then be combined. (8) The taxes of all jurisdictions should 
be combined in one bill. If the bill is unpaid within the allotted time 
and the taxpayer is a resident, the bill might well be collected by an 
alias tax warrant. (9) Taxes and special assessments on real estate 
should be a lien on the particular parcels of real estate. Seizure of 
personal property to satisfy real-estate taxes should not be permitted, 
except where the real-estate security is being impaired, as by logging 
operations. (10) Payment of taxes in installments (either semi- 
annually or quarterly) should be permitted in the case of real estate. 
RESULTS TO BE EXPECTED 
A more accurate assessment will reduce the tax uncertainty which 
now discourages many investors from putting their money into real 
estate. This uncertainty has been shown to be particularly prominent 
in the case of an investment in a deferred-yield property, such, for 
instance, as second-growth forest property in which the growing s stock 
is subnormal for sustained yield. The uncertainty is most acute of 
all in the case of a cut-over land forest investment, where the owner 
must suffer the vicissitudes of the local assessment for a number of 
decades before he begins to receive a substantial income. 'To remove 
these vicissitudes would remove one important tax obstacle in the 
way of the forest-growing business. 
‘Since cut-over land is generally overassessed with relation to other 
property under the present system, the reform of assessment under 
that system will remove still another important tax obstacle in the 
way of practicing forestry on such land. Cut-over land assessments 
will be reduced relatively to other assessments. On the other hand, 
since timber, either mature or immature, is sometimes under-assessed 
with relation to other property, timber ‘assessments may sometimes 
be increased by an improved system. This latter effect will be of 
chief importance in the case of old-growth forests, where a large share 
of the total forest value is in timber. When such forests are being 
operated, an increase in assessment will be endurable even if it results 
in an increase in taxes, for such properties are yielding current income 
and have in consequence comparatively low tax ratios. Old-growth 
