A34-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 13, 2002 Michael Jacobson Forest Resources Extension Specialist Although there is a preferential tax for forestland in Pennsylva nia, there are concerns about the program among private forest landowners, forest industry rep resentatives, and county officials. The preferential tax program commonly known as Clean and Green bases the assessment on the land’s ability to produce in come in its current use, rather than its fair market value. The Pennsylvania legislature created Clean and Green in 1974 with the objective of conserving farm and forestland by providing tax incentives for landowners not to convert their land to other uses. The program objectives are espe cially important in urbanizing counties where development pressures are high. The preferential assessment under Clean and Green is formu la-based. It uses projected timber yields, current stumpage prices, and interest rates to determine use values for an 80-year timber rotation. Until recently, landown ers were less concerned with the formula’s use values, since stumpage prices were low and in terest rates high. Thus, the as- Pa. Class I Milk Price Announced For June HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) The Pennsylvania Milk Market ing Board (PMMB) announced the prices to be paid to Pennsylvania dairy farmers for June Class I milk (beverage) as an average of $15.08 in the western areas of the commonwealth, and an average of $15.57 in the central and eastern areas of the commonwealth. These prices do include the over-order premium of $1.65 per 100 pounds of milk. Farmers whose milk production is pooled under a federal order will receive a marketwide blend price based upon the value of all classes of milk. However, the blend price received will vary as the component composition of a farmer’s milk differs from the established bench marks of 3.5 percent butterfat, 2.99 percent protein, and 5.69 percent other solids. 'lEflUJi; • Wide open design for easy entrance • Square tubular frame construction I- 1 1 jrJi rj v/ 717-484-2233 ‘I 255 Hol,zman R ° ad Mum! . Remholds, PA 17569 Custom Fabrication of Galvanized Barn Equipment sessed value for forestland re mained relatively low. However, in the 19905, low inflation (result ing in lower interest rates) and rapidly escalating stumpage prices drove the Clean and Green assessments for forestland higher. Nevertheless, a recent Penn State study shows only 23 percent of the landowners surveyed believe that the Clean and Green assess ed values are too high. Currently, landowners enroll in the voluntary Clean and Green program only in counties with re cent* reassessments. Many of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties have not recently reassessed property values; so assessed values are lower than the use values avail able under Clean and Green. There were over two million acres (one-sixth of private forest land) enrolled in the Clean and Green program in 2000. An issue with landowners is the so-called deferred income problem. Unlike farmers, many forest landowners only have tim ber income from their forestland once in the lifetime (when they harvest). However, they pay an nual property taxes. Calculations show that even with the preferential assessment, the compounded value of the an nual tax payments over an 80 to '>au> lneai r i * regiM^rel l acmiuiifco* A!«»* i ib s v f onrtuilCo Galvanized Headlocks • Automatic down cow release • Quiet cushioned operation 100-year rotation is generally far greater than the revenues from timber harvests. Another land owner complaint is that actual forestland value can vary quite widely within the same county. However, the Clean and Green assessed rate within a county is the same for all landowners. Many tax assessors and com missioners say that the assessed values derived from the current use value formula are too low in their counties. Traditionally, property taxes fund schools and local governments. One particular concern among county officials is a recent amendment to the law. The amendment allows the land under a house, known as the “farmstead,” to be assessed at Clean and Green rates and count toward the 10-acre minimum area. This provision is especially hard on rural counties where the fair market valuation for the “farmstead” acre comprised a significant portion of their tax revenues. 1 J-LI PAINTING j 1 All Types j 1 ** Interior/Exterior Including Aerial Work Specialists in Sand Blasting and Spray Painting Farm Buildings Also Roof Coating • Water Blasting • Repair All Types of Spray Equipment - Pumps & Guns Fisher’s Painting 4056 A Newport Rd. Kinzers, PA 17535 On Rt. 772 Across From Pequea Valley School 717*768*3239 DAIRY STRESS PAK A Source of Live (viable) Naturally-Occuring Micro-Organisms plus Vitamins, Niacin & Amino Acid Complexes for Dairy Cattle. \ ( Some benefits of feeding Dairy Stress Pak: • Increases fiber digestion • Helps reduce grain passage in manure < • Increases total rumen bacteria ) • Helps improve immune system / • Appetite stimulant • Helps to lower SCC • Helps increase milk fat • Helps reduce incidence of abortions and stillbirths • Helps reduce incidence of ketosis Best times to feed Dairy Stress Pak: • Early lactation • Anytime feed intake is low • When poor forage is being fed • Any Stress period like freshening, breeding, or heat stress The provision may also en courage developers to subdivide larger properties into 10-acre “mini-estates” that meet the size requirements for Clean and Green, but do not provide the kind of open space that the law was intended to protect. These “mini-estate” owners could pay considerably less in property taxes than people who own lower-value residences on smaller parcels in the same coun ty- As large forestlands are subdi vided, it often makes forest man agement more difficult, and many of the smaller parcels are essentially removed from the land base that supports Pennsyl vania’s forest products industry. Another point of contention with Clean and Green is that the penalties for withdrawing from the program are not high enough compared to the potential profit from developing the land. Many government officials be lieve that the penalties do little to prevent developers from purchas ing land and enrolling it in the kssMus PURINA CHOWS 6 S Vintage Rd., Paradise, PA 17562 (717) 442-4183 800-635-3592 program until the time is right to develop the property. In this way, the program can reduce the cost of land speculation, potentially encouraging development. As with any tax, there are com plaints from all sides: county offi cials, landowners, rural counties, and urban counties. What is clear, though, is that there are is sues to address with the Clean and Green program for forest land. One solution that can help is local tax reform at a larger scale, addressing school funding and income and sales taxes. For more information about Clean and Green, request the free publication: Forest Finance #4: Understanding Forest Property Tax Assessment in Pennsylvania. The publication is available from the Pennsylvania Forest Steward ship Program by calling 1-800-235-WISE (toll-free), send ing e-mail to RNRext@psu.edu, or writing to: Forest Stewardship Program, Forest Resources Ex tension, The Pennsylvania State University, 7 Ferguson Building, University Park, PA 16802. Roof Systems/ Painting • Coating All Types Interior/Exterior Painting & Coating Specializing in: * Spray Painting 'Hand Painting * Water Blasting 'Water Proofing • Deck Restoration Sr Coating • Stone fir Brick Restoration •Roof Restoration Sr Coating Liquid Applied Roof Systems * Seamless -Cure-in-place - Cold Process, No Flame - Renewable - Leak Proof * No Need to Tear Off Old Roof Systems * Coating to Cool Roof - (Save up to 20% on Cooling Cost) * Metal - Flat-Asphalt - EPDM - Modified We have the right Product & Solution to Solve your Roofing Problems Ten year manufacturers Warranties Available Sfc Capital Painting 717-768-0979 u W v
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers