FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 635 
By this plan the death taxes on most forest properties belonging 
to estates of small value would be paid at the usual time, as the rates 
on such estates are usually no more than 2 percent. In the case of 
large properties, the effect of the progressive rates in forcing the 
denudation of the forest or the breaking up of operating units would 
be minimized, for the tax would be payable over a period of years. 
Where the maximum rates are moderate, say 10 to 15 percent, the 
installments on forest property could well be limited to 1 percent 
which could be realized from most forest properties without interfer- 
ing with the owner’s management plan. 
The American system of death taxation has without doubt its 
imperfections and might be improved at various points. The national 
committee on inheritance taxation presented certain recommenda- 
tions, adoption of which would undoubtedly be advantageous to 
forest property along with all other classes of property. These are 
discussed in part 10. They include moderate rates, installment pay- 
ments, uniformity of rates among the States, and stability both in 
rates and other provisions. 
SEVERANCE TAXES 
There is no justification for a severance tax, in addition to property 
or other adequate tax, in the case of forests, except possibly as a 
measure to be applied to forests destructively exploited without 
provision for restocking. Only two States, Arkansas and Louisiana, 
now have severance taxes in addition to the property tax upon 
forests. The yield tax on forests in lieu of the property tax (which 
is one form of severance tax) has been treated elsewhere. 
SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
This concluding part has undertaken to present the broad outlines 
of the forest-tax problem and a program for its solution, based upon 
evidence and principles developed at length in the preceding parts. 
The following is a brief summary of the conclusions and recommenda- 
tions. 
Taxation is today a matter of major importance, and all classes are 
interested in the possibility of tax relief. In general, the problem of 
taxation resolves itself into two parts: (1) The total burden of taxa- 
tion, and (2) the distribution of this burden among the several tax- 
payers. As to the first, the matter is settled when the appropriate 
legislative body determines upon the functions that the Government 
is to perform and their cost; it is a matter of the Budget. When once 
the cost is fixed, taxation must, sooner or later, foot the bill. The 
second phase of the tax problem involves methods of taxation, the 
ideal being a just distribution among all who have an interest in the 
Government. In particular cases a third phase may exist, where the 
prevailing tax system is out of harmony with the peculiar circum- 
stances of an industry or a taxpaying class and so works hardship on 
account of the method of imposition rather than the amount exacted. 
The problem of taxation, as thus broadly outlined, is an important 
element in the forestry situation in the United States. The present 
heavy burden of taxation does not spare the forests. In some locali- 
ties the operation of the tax system imposes an inequitable burden 
upon certain classes of forests or forest lands. And it has been 
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