Timber or Woodlot — variable slope. 



Land with a high percentage of trees, 

 either natural or planted. Land that is too 

 rough, stony, or wet to support any vegetation 

 other than trees." Sec 221. 



Rural Land Used Exclusively for 

 Growing Timber 20% 



"Land on which approved tree growing prac- 

 tices have been established and are carried 

 out is entitled to this classification provided the 

 land is not adaptable to non-rural use and is 

 not being used for any other purpose. Use for 

 homestead, residential, farming, commercial, 



seasonal recreational, or any other purpose is 

 not use exclusively for growing timber and 

 therefore precludes this classification. Land 

 devoted exclusively to growing Christmas trees 

 qualifies for this classification ; land growing 

 nursery stock does not." Sec. 256. 



Minnesota Assessors' Manual, Depart- 

 ment of Taxation. 



"Real estate, rural in character, and used ex- 

 clusively for the purpose of growing trees for 

 timber, lumber, wood and wood products shall 

 constitute class three 'e', and shall be valued 

 and assessed at 20 percent of the full and true 

 value thereof." Laws of 1955, Chapter 751. 



MISSISSIPPI 



"... 1. 'cultivatable lands' and 2. 'uncultivat- 

 able lands' . . . are the classifications fixed by 

 law. . . . 'Uncultivatable lands' consist of the 

 following types of land : 



(f) Gullies, sand beds and hills which 

 cannot be used for agricultural pur- 

 poses ; low lands, which are so often 

 overflowed, that they cannot be used 

 for agriculture — growing of crops. 



(g) Lands so thickly with stumps, 



1 Standing timber is exempt from the property tax 

 under provisions of the mandatory yield (severance) 

 tax law adopted in 1940. Forest land remains subject to 

 the property tax. 



bushes or trees as not to be usable 

 for agriculture, 

 (h) Lands so lacking in fertility that the 

 soil is not capable of producing 

 crops by the use of ordinary meth- 

 ods of preparation and the ordinary 

 use of fertilizer." (pp. 30-31) 

 "... reservations and other interests, having 

 a value, when owned by another than the owner 

 of the fee, or surface owner, are to be assessed 

 separately. . . . Long term timber reservations 

 are to be assessed. Standing timber is exempt." 

 (P. 30) 



Handbook for Property Tax Assessments. 

 State Tax Commission. 1962. 



MISSOURI 



Procedure for Land Valuation — Rural Land 



"In appraising rural properties the assessor 

 is more concerned with the productiveness of 

 land than with location. As indicated on the 

 real estate record card, rural land is divided 

 into three main categories: crop land, pasture 

 land, and timber land. In each of these cate- 

 gories it is suggested that a quality grade of 

 "average," "below average," or "above average" 

 be assigned. Under this system this means that 

 for equalization the assessor must assign unit 

 values for the various classes and qualities of 

 farm land. 



"In each county the assessor has at his dis- 

 posal several ways of arriving at these unit land 

 values. In a few of the counties there are soil 

 surveys which have been published showing the 

 various soil types which can be used as a basis 

 for his classification. Of course, the most reli- 



able method of establishing the various unit 

 values is through the use of market sales data. 

 By collecting information concerning the farms 

 for which he has recent sales prices, the assessor 

 can relate the average per acre sales price to 

 the various quantities of crop land, pasture 

 land, and timber land on each farm. Naturally, 

 these sales prices include the improvements, 

 which must be deducted from the total sales 

 price in order to arrive at an indicated value 

 of the farm land. Also, the assessor can make 

 use of the data contained in the Census of Agri- 

 culture of 1954. The fourth source of assistance 

 is through the use of a land value committee 

 similar to the one recommended for urban land 

 values." 



Assessors' Manual 

 State Tax Commission 

 n.d., p. 54. 



54 



