Washington Administrative Code › Title 458 - Revenue, Department of › Chapter 458-40 - Taxation of forest land and timber › Section 458-40-610 - Timber excise tax-Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Introduction.
The purpose of WAC
			 458-40-610 through
			 458-40-680 is to prescribe the
			 policies and procedures for the taxation of timber harvested from public and
			 private forest lands as required by
			 RCW
			 84.33.010 through
			 84.33.096.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions
				in this rule apply to WAC
				458-40-610 through
				458-40-680. In addition to the
				definitions found in this rule, definitions of technical forestry terms may be
				found in
The Dictionary of Forestry
, 1998, edited by John A.
				Helms, and published by the Society of American Foresters.
(2)
Codominant trees.
Trees
			 whose crowns form the general level of the main canopy and receive full light
			 from above, but comparatively little light from the sides.
(3)
Competitive sales.
The
			 offering for sale of timber which is advertised to the general public for sale
			 at public auction under terms wherein all qualified potential buyers have an
			 equal opportunity to bid on the sale, and the sale is awarded to the highest
			 qualified bidder. The term "competitive sales" includes making available to the
			 general public permits for the removal of forest products.
(4)
Cord measurement.
A measure
			 of wood with dimensions of 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet (128 cubic
			 feet).
(5)
Damaged
			 timber.
Timber where the stumpage values have been materially reduced
			 from the values shown in the applicable stumpage value tables due to damage
			 resulting from fire, blow down, ice storm, flood, or other sudden unforeseen
			 causes.
(6)
Dominant
			 trees.
Trees whose crowns are higher than the general level of the main
			 canopy and which receive full light from the sides as well as from
			 above.
(7)
Firewood.
Commercially traded firewood is considered scaled utility log grade as defined
			 in subsection (14) of this section.
(8)
Forest-derived biomass.
Forest-derived biomass consists of tree limbs, tops, needles, leaves, and other
			 woody debris that are residues from such activities as timber harvesting,
			 forest thinning, fire suppression, or forest health. Forest-derived biomass
			 does not include scalable timber products or firewood (defined in WAC
			 458-40-650).
(9)
Harvest unit.
An area of
			 timber harvest, defined and mapped by the harvester before harvest, having the
			 same stumpage value area, harvest adjustments, harvester, and harvest
			 identification. The harvest identification may be a department of natural
			 resources forest practice application number, public agency harvesting permit
			 number, public sale contract number, or other unique identifier assigned to the
			 timber harvest area prior to harvest operations. A harvest unit may include
			 more than one section, but harvest unit may not overlap a county
			 boundary.
(10)
Harvester.
Every person who from the person's own land or from the
			 land of another under a right or license granted by lease or contract, either
			 directly or by contracting with others for the necessary labor or mechanical
			 services, fells, cuts, or takes timber for sale or for commercial or industrial
			 use. The term "harvester" does not include persons performing under contract
			 the necessary labor or mechanical services for a harvester. In cases where the
			 identity of the harvester is in doubt, the department of revenue will consider
			 the owner of the land from which the timber was harvested to be the harvester
			 and the one liable for paying the tax.
The definition above applies except when the United States or
				any instrumentality thereof, the state, including its departments and
				institutions and political subdivisions, or any municipal corporation therein
				so fells, cuts, or takes timber for sale or for commercial or industrial use.
				When a governmental entity described above fells, cuts, or takes timber, the
				harvester is the first person, other than another governmental entity as
				described above, acquiring title to or a possessory interest in such
				timber.
(11)
Harvesting and marketing costs.
Only those costs directly and
			 exclusively associated with harvesting merchantable timber from the land and
			 delivering it to the buyer. The term includes the costs of piling logging
			 residue on site, and costs to abate extreme fire hazard when required by the
			 department of natural resources. Harvesting and marketing costs do not include
			 the costs of other consideration (for example, reforestation, permanent road
			 construction), treatment to timber or land that is not a necessary part of a
			 commercial harvest (for example, precommercial thinning, brush clearing, land
			 grading, stump removal), costs associated with maintaining the option of land
			 conversion (for example, county fees, attorney fees, specialized site
			 assessment or evaluation fees), or any other costs not directly and exclusively
			 associated with the harvesting and marketing of merchantable timber. The actual
			 harvesting and marketing costs must be used in all instances where documented
			 records are available. When the taxpayer is unable to provide documented proof
			 of such costs, or when harvesting and marketing costs cannot be separated from
			 other costs, the deduction for harvesting and marketing costs is 35 percent of
			 the gross receipts from the sale of the logs.
(12)
Legal description.
A
			 description of an area of land using government lots and standard general land
			 office subdivision procedures. If the boundary of the area is irregular, the
			 physical boundary must be described by metes and bounds or by other means that
			 will clearly identify the property.
(13)
Log grade.
Those grades
			 listed in the "
Official Log Scaling and Grading Rules
"
			 developed and authored by the Northwest Log Rules Advisory Group (Advisory
			 Group). "Utility grade" means logs that do not meet the minimum requirements of
			 peeler or sawmill grades as defined in the "
Official Log Scaling and
			 Grading Rules
" published by the Advisory Group but are suitable for
			 the production of firm useable chips to an amount of not less than 50 percent
			 of the gross scale; and meeting the following minimum requirements:
(a) Minimum gross diameter - Two
			 inches.
(b) Minimum gross length -
			 12 feet.
(c) Minimum volume - 10
			 board feet net scale.
(d) Minimum
			 recovery requirements - 100 percent of adjusted gross scale in firm useable
			 chips.