WISCONSIN 
Yield Tax.! 
Optional. Enacted 1927. Amended 1929, 1931, 1933, 1935, 
1937, 1939, 1941, 1948, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1955, 
1959, 1961, 1963, and 1965. 
Statutes 1957, Secs. 77.01 to 77.14. 
Classification 
Qualification. Tracts of not less than 40 acres 
are eligible for classification as ‘Forest Crop 
Lands.’”’ Such tracts must be more useful for 
growing timber and other forest crops than for 
any other purpose and there must be reasonable 
assurance that a stand of merchantable timber 
will be developed within a reasonable time. 
Procedure. The owner petitions the Conserva- 
tion Commission, stating that he intends to 
practice forestry and that all persons holding 
encumbrances on such lands have joined. After 
public hearing and independent investigation, the 
Commission determines whether the petition 
should be granted. If so, notice of the decision is 
forwarded to the State Department of Revenue, 
the supervisor of assessments, the town clerk, and 
the register of deeds. 
Classification constitutes a contract running 
with the land for a period of 50 years, unless ter- 
minated earlier; the contract is subject to renewal 
by mutual consent. 
Conditions governing continued classification. 
Classified lands must be open to the public for 
hunting and fishing under such rules as the Com- 
mission may prescribe and must not be used for 
purposes other than forestry.2 The owner must 
notify the Commission of transfer of ownership; 
classification is then cancelled unless the purchaser 
certifies his intention to continue the practice of 
forestry. 
Once in 5 years the Commission must determine 
whether classified lands shall remain subject to 
the Act; such determination may be made at any 
time upon request of the Department of Revenue, 
the owner, the town’ board, or at the discretion 
of the Commission itself. 
Declassification 
This may be effected by the action of the Com- 
mission or of the owner or by expiration of the 
contract. 
The Commission may declassify lands if it 
finds after investigation and opportunity for 
hearing, that requirements are not being met. If 
classification is cancelled within 5 years, the owner 
must repay to the Commission all “acreage aid”’ 
advanced by the State (see heading ‘‘State reim- 
bursement”’ below) with interest at 5 percent 
1 Known as the “Forest Crop Law.” 
? For State income tax purposes taxpayers may deduct from 
gross income the cost of seeds, planting stock, land prepara- 
tion, planting, maintenance and fire protection with respect to 
Forest Crop Lands. Taxpayers may elect to defer such deduc- 
tions until the crop or property is disposed of. (Statutes, Sec., 
71.04(11) and 71.05(11).) 
48 
per year, less any yield tax already paid. If classi- 
fication is cancelled after 5 years, the owner must 
pay a tax equal to the sum of real estate taxes 
that would ordinarily have been charged against 
the tract if not classified, with interest at 5 percent 
less any yield taxes already paid. 
The owner may withdraw lands from classifica- 
tion by filing a declaration with the Commission. 
The declassification tax is the same as that payable 
upon declassification by the Commission after 
5 years, as described above. 
Upon expiration of the contract the quantity of 
merchantable timber is estimated and a yield tax 
is payable in the same manner as though the 
stumpage had been cut. 
Tax treatment 
Land. Classified lands are exempt from property 
tax; in its place an annual specific tax of 10 cents 
per acre (known as “‘acreage share’’) is imposed. 
Buildings located on classified lands are assessed 
as personal property and taxed accordingly. 
Timber. Products harvested from Forest Crop 
Lands are subject to a yield tax of 10 percent of 
stumpage value. 
The Commission each year, after public hearing, 
determines reasonable stumspage values; these may 
be established by zones if material variance 
exists as between localities. 
Exemption. Wood used by the owner for fuel is 
exempt from payment of yield tax. 
Tax administration 
Reports. The owner must file with the Commis- 
sion a notice of intent to cut specifying the de- 
scription and estimated amounts of forest products 
to be removed and also the volume to be left as 
growing stock. The Commission may limit the 
amount of forest products cut in order that 
adequate growing stock may remain to furnish 
recurring forest crops. Cutting in excess of such 
limitation renders the operator liable to payment 
of yield tax at double the usual rate. 
Within 30 days of cutting, but not more than 
one year after notice of intent to cut, the owner 
must report to the Commission the kind and 
quantity of all products harvested. 
Collection. Acreage share payments are collected 
by the town treasurer. Yield tax payments are 
collected by the Commission. 
Use of revenue 
Acreage share revenues are distributed as 
follows: 20 percent is paid to the county treasurer, 
40 percent is retained by the town, and the re- 
mainder is apportioned among the school dis- 
tricts in which the lands are located. 
Yield tax revenues are distributed as follows: 
