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CALHOUN TARGETS MANAGED TIMBERLANDS - Tax Break Hurt Forested Counties |
| (02/18/2005) |
| By Bob Weaver The Calhoun Commission is proposing to raise the valuation on managed timberland to help cover a budget shortfall. The Managed Timberlands Bill passed by the Underwood administration and the WV Legislature gave owners of woodlots a tax break to help them improve their timber stand. The tax break, according to most calculations, amounted to a 60% reduction, but a survey of program applicants showed that over 90% of those collecting the break were timber producers, mostly large timber corporations. Those producers and corporations were already managing their timber stands. Calhoun currently has about 12,000 acres in the managed timberlands program. The proposal increases the valuation by $120 an acre, which translates to $1.33 per acre in taxes. The timberlands tax break took hundreds of thousands of dollars from dozens of forested West Virginia counties, helping push them toward financial crisis. Wirt County Commissioner Charles Murray and Assessor Debbie Hennen told a legislative committee last month that fully one-third of Wirt County is designated as managed timberland. Murray said the county currently collects taxes amounting to $75,000 for that huge area, a $100,000 loss created by the bill. Murray said "That's a lot of money for Wirt County," indicating the land is valuated low to begin with. The total budget for Wirt County is $700,000. Murray said much of the land is tied up, preventing its use for house sites or other projects. "The tax exemption has no incentive to sell the land for building," he told the legislature. Sooner or later they will when the price is right. Much of the land is being leased for $3 an acre to hunt clubs, "a double dipping result for the owners. What a deal." Pat Reed, a Raleigh County Commissioner, said a Sam's Club recently purchased 12 acres of managed timberlands in that county at $125,000 an acre. "They're laughing all the way to the bank," he said. Sen. Donna Boley said "People in these counties have to pay more taxes because these big landowners get the tax breaks."
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