Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1908-04-01
TAXATION
An Exhaustive Study Has Com
menced in New hamp-
shire.
OTHER STATES INTERESTED
The Outcome will be Watched With
Deep interest by All States In
terested In Reforestation.

The first exhaustive study of the for
est taxation problem as ii is presented
by the actual working of existing laws
to be attempted by any state has just
been begun by the New Hampshire
State Forestry Commission in cooper
alton with the United States forest
service. The study will take in all of
the many questions of forest land tax
alton and the protection of New
Hampshire forests from fires If nee
essary 20 complete the work $1,000 will
be available. ]. Fl. Foster of the for
est service has been sent from Wash
ington to take up the Investigations on
the ground Immediately.
Because of its thoroughness New
Hampshire study is sure to be fol-
lowed with great interest by New
York. Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania
and the other states which are finding
the forest tax problem a serious check
to forest preservation. Mr. Foster
will find out by ains-taking inquiry
in different parts of the state and
among all classes of citizens Just how
the present laws are administered, how
they are regarded, and what their ef-
feet is on the lumber industry and for
est preservation. The result will be
to furnish New Hampshire with a
better basis for revising its system of
taxing forest lands than any state has
ever had before, if changes in the
present laws are found 10 be needed.
Taxation of timber land is regarded
by officers of the forest service as one
of the most important matters now up
for discussion. They believe that upon
The right settlement of this question
largely depends the rapidity with
which private owners adopt forestry.
Agitation for a change is taking place
along two directly opposite lines-for
an increase in the amount of taxes TO
be paid by wild lands, on the one
hand, and on the other for the passing
of laws which will partially or wholly
exempt from taxation reforested lands
or will defer collection of taxes on
the forest crop until it is harvested.
Those who urge increasing the tax be-
lieve that this class of property does
not now pay its full share of the gen.
eral tax burden. Those who advocate
laws TO tighten the weight of taxation
on forest lands in one way or another
maintain that the public welfare is
prom Jted by the preservation of for
ests, and that the more heavily they are
taxed the more certain it is that they
will either be wiped out altogether or
lose most OF their value through de-
structive numbering.
In Maine and New York proposed
changes in existing laws are now up
for discussion. In Maine, a tax COM
mission appointed by the last legisla-
ture is about to hold public hearings,
and the report goes that il will be
asked to recommend a scheme where
by wild lands may be taxed on the
same basis as municipal property, or
about per cent. annually. In the
New York legislature bill has been
introduced which would tax timber
lands managed with the approval of
the Forest, Fish and Game Commission
at rate no lighter than that for bar
ran unproductive land in the same tax
district with an additional tax of three
percent on the stumpage value of the
timber when IL is cut. Both measures
would create a special class of property
In Maine TO make il pay heavier taxes
in New York lighter. In Maine the
value of standing timber is regarded as
part of the value of the land and the
owner is expected to pay rising tax
as his timber grows more valuable un-
til he cuts il off In the New York
bill the timber is regarded as grow
ing crop which like other growing
crops should he exempted from taxa
tion until il is harvested The New
York bill seeks to encourage forestry as
means of increasing the wealth of the
State: The Maine plan IL carried
through will powerfully discourage
forestry.
The New Hampshire study has been
undertaken In the belief that Ii will
help solve what is underiably knotty
problem. a forest taxation law which
is both wise ana practicable is by no
means easy to draw. In Pennsylva-
MIA state which appreciate the value
of its forests and the importance of
fore-sighted action to prevent non-ag-
ricultural lands from becoming worth
less wastes. law passed in 1905 pro-
viding for rebate of taxes levied upon
forest lands was pronounced uncossti-
tutional by the courts because IL de-
stroyed uniformity of taxation. On
the other hand. the state of Michigan
has one-sixth of its area OH the deiln-
quent tax list because the land ia