For Sale: Prime Timberland in South Soaring Property Taxes Put Millions of Acres on the Block

WashPost ^ | 8/5/3

[NativeNewYorker]

MADISON, Ga., Aug. 4 -- Soaring property taxes and increasing debt have forced giant timber companies to put millions of acres of timberland up for sale across the South.

The Georgia office of Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Development Co. plans to sell roughly 30,000 acres in Morgan, Putnam and Oconee counties for more than $3,000 an acre. The company also announced plans to sell 174,000 acres in Tennessee and 170,000 in the Carolinas.

SNIP

Giant timber companies are selling forest land as they try to cut costs to offset mergers and operational changes. Larger tracts and corporate lands also are taxed at market value.

Excerpt ends. Hit link for rest of story.

[NativeNewYorker]

Differential taxation for hated vs. favored constitutents. Equal justice under law my a$$.

[tcostell]

Actually, the only way the greens can avoid taxes in this circumstance is to get the government to "buy" the land and set it aside for them. It's not like they are stepping up with their own money and buying the land... if they did, they would have to pay taxes too. They coerce the government to do it for them.

The tax problem is really the result of runaway local government costs and leading among these is the government schools.

The NEA and the ATF hold a monopoly on providing education, and are so deeply embedded with local and state governments that they can increase taxes at their will.

They will be the undoing of this country.

[gunnedah]

This is how government increases taxes,steals land and property and gets tax increases. Is it Communism where the government owns everything or is that liberalism?
Once the Liberal Democrats take over and install their Supreme Court that will put in motion Americas trek toward a dictatorship.

[NativeNewYorker]

their Supreme Court that will put in motion Americas trek toward a dictatorship

Oh, that trek is in motion. They'd just accelerate it.

[Ben Ficklin]

This trend has been underway for several years. It has been attributed to the taxing structure, environmental liablities, and the timber companies' desire to transfer operations to other countries. As Weyerhauser has reduced their holdings in thr US, they have expanded their operations in Canada and Australia.

The out-right selling of these timber holdings has resulted in the formation of investment companies that hold raw timber land and then sell back, of timber on the stump, to the timber company as required. These holding companies are doing well with reported earnings of up to 14% per anum.

The timber companies have also done a lot of swapping with the federal and state agencies to reduce their holdings, trading acres for board feet.This Article details one such swap. A great deal of swapping has also occurred in northern New England.

A more recent trend is for the timber companies to sell a environmental easement on their holdings. Last year, Potlach put such an easement on all their holdings in Idaho. This was the largest enviro easement ever. They plan to do the same in Wisconson and Arkansas.

[TUX]

Actually big timber is given a free ride by most states. Check the tax bill for these companys in your area. You could be in for quite a shock.

The trick in making them ante up is to prevent the transfer of these huge tracts to public use(non taxable), rather than taxable use.

[NativeNewYorker]

Thanks for the details. I didn't know any of that.

[NativeNewYorker]

Check the tax bill for these companys in your area.

Well, thar ain't too many timber companies 'roun these here parts. No siree. :)

[razorback-bert]

I have some prime hardwood timber, even clear cutting the land, I couldn't make it produce $3000 an acre.

I am willing to bet a lot of that land for sale is pulp, not timber.

[Ben Ficklin]

Yes, most of the south has been loblolly pine for pulp. This not to say that as the reduction in logging on federal lands in the west took place, more southern acreage was allowed to grow so that they could make saw timber.

What hardwood were you trying to sell?

[Libertarianize the GOP]

ping

[razorback-bert]

I am not selling, I let my pine grow (50 years now)to timber, plus I have Walnut and Hickory stands.