Page 26 - Georgia Forestry - Spring 2017

Mitigating Risk
Georgia Forestry Association Addresses the Top Five Challenges for Working Forests
The economic and political environments for working forests and forest-product industries are highly complex and very dynamic. To ensure the long-term sustainability of Georgia’s forests, the correct mix of stewardship, market opportunities and commitment to public policy must come together to support those who hold our forests in trust for future generations. The Georgia Forestry Association (GFA) and the Georgia Forestry
Foundation (GFF) work at the intersection of business and policy to help ensure the sustainability of working forestry in our state. Here are the top five greatest challenges that face our industry.
#1
Healthy Tax Environment
Forest landowners are facing growing pressures from uncertainties related to the future of federal tax rules and increasing attempts by local governments to increase revenue by manipulating ad valorem taxation. At the federal level, it is imperative that Congress maintains the capital gains treatment for timber sales, tax credits for reforestation and forest management costs. At the state and local levels, it is imperative for the state to address inequities in the ways in which counties assess the value of timberland and equipment and to identify alternatives for school funding.
HOW WE ARE WORKING FOR YOU:
GFA will continue to work with national counterparts to ensure that Congress understands the importance of the long-term investment
made by forestland owners and the economic and environmental benefits of working forests.
The Georgia Forestry Foundation’s (GFF) Center for Forest Policy Studies is working with a group of tax experts to determine the best legislative proposal for bringing equity to the valuation of timberland.
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