Tax administration 
Reports. Owners must file with the assessor a 
copy of the application for timber harvest permit 
required under the general statutes; security may 
be required to guarantee payment of additional 
property tax found to be due. 
Timber harvest reports required under the 
general statutes relating to timber taxes serve as 
reports of timber and reproduction harvested 
for purposes of this Act. 
The owner must file annually with the county 
assessor and with the Commission a description 
of the tract or tracts in which his timber and forest 
lands are located; this report indicates any addi- 
tions or deletions or states that the tract is un- 
changed. Failure to file a timely report results in 
old growth timber being assessed at 30 percent of 
immediate harvest value. 
Collection. Annual property taxes under the 
Act are payable in the same manner as property 
taxes in general. ‘Additional taxes” are payable 
following notification from the assessor of the 
amount due; provision is made for review and 
appeal. 
Use of revenue 
Annual property tax receipts under the Act are 
applied as are property tax receipts in general. 
‘Additional taxes” are allocated among the taxing 
districts in which the harvested timber or re- 
production was located, in the proportion that the 
rate percent of levy for each district bears to the 
total rate percent of levy for all such districts. 
Definition of terms 
“Immediate harvest value” of timber or re- 
production is the amount for which it would sell at 
a voluntary sale in the ordinary course of business 
for immediate harvest. Reasonable allowance is to 
be made for species, quality, volume, age, disease, 
defect, stand density, cost of removal, accessi- 
bility to point of conversion, topography, and 
other factors. 
A “tract” includes all forest land and timber 
which is managed as a unit, even though its parts 
are not contiguous, not in the same county, and 
do not have the same owner. All forest land and 
timber which is in the same county and ownership 
but which is not part of a management unit is also 
considered a “tract”. A tract of either type in- 
cludes all forest land in the same ownership even 
though timber thereon, or the right to harvest it, 
is owned by another and may thus be included in 
the tract of another owner. 
OREGON 
Modified Assessment Law (Small Tract)!. Optional. Enacted 1961, 
Amended 1968, 1965, and 1967. 
Revised Statutes Sees. 321.705 to .765. 
Classification 
Qualification. Land situated west of the summit 
of the Cascade Mountains which is not classified 
as “reforestation land” under the Forest Fee and 
Yield Tax and which in the judgment of the State 
Forester, is suitable for timber production and is 
being used primarily for that purpose, may be 
classified. Among conditions to be met are the 
following: (a) the land does not have a higher 
market value for other than forest or farm use, (b) 
uses are compatible with timber production under 
generally accepted forestry principles and (c) the 
average age of timber is not over 60 years. Once 
classified, lands may continue under classification 
until timber reaches an average age of 90 years. 
Average age may be determined for separate 
areas. 
To be eligible, the “total ownership” of forest 
land must not exceed 1,000 acres. Total ownership 
includes forest lands owned individually or group 
holdings in which the applicant holds an interest 
of 10 percent or more. No owner may classify 
lands if he has a close relative (as defined) whose 
land is classified but exception may be granted 
where holdings do not reflect an attempt to cir- 
cumvent the acreage limitation. 
1 Known as the Western Oregon Small Tract Optional Tax. 
23 
Owners electing to classify any of their eligible 
land must classify all such lands. 
Procedure. Owners of forest land make applica- 
tion to the State Forester paying an inspection fee 
of $2-$7.50 depending upon acreage. If approved 
the application is certified to the county assessor 
indicating the average site class of the tract as a 
whole or by smaller areas. 
Owners may apply within one year after acquisi- 
tion or conversion to forest use. Owners as of 
August 9, 1961 had five years in which to apply. 
Conditions governing continued classtfication. 
The owner must file with the State Forester an 
annual statement of continuing eligibility; loss of 
eligibility must be reported immediately. 
Declassification 
Lands may be declassified upon request of the 
owner. The State Forester may declassify land upon 
determination that the land is no longer eligible 
for classification. 
Tax treatment 
Land. Prevailing property tax rates apply; 
however, classified land shall be appraised by the 
county assessor at a true cash value in accordance 
with the site class assigned to the land as follows: 
