Page 28 - Georgia Forestry - Summer 2018

If approved by Georgia voters, the legislation will be the most significant update to the ad valorem tax law since the passage of the Forest Land Protection Act in 2008. House Ways & Means Chair- man Rep. Jay Powell (R-Camilla) was the primary sponsor of the bill.
“Our private forest owners are consis- tently supporting our state’s economy and environment, using their own resources,” Rep. Powell said. “This leg- islation helps to address several issues in the conservation use assessment of tim- berland to create a fair system for forest landowners while maintaining funding for counties throughout the state.”
Richard Royal, 30-year veteran of the Georgia General Assembly, former chair of the House Ways & Means Committee and a policy consultant to the Associa- tion, was the author and primary sponsor of FLPA in 2008. Royal agrees that the bill will be critical for Georgia landowners.
“This tax legislation is imperative to keeping Georgia the number one forestry state in the nation,” Royal said. “The Department of Revenue, with trained professionals, will now establish fair market values for the new classification of qualified timberland, which will result
in uniform and accurate land valuations. In addition, the correct extraction of timber values from the land values will provide much-needed property tax relief to the timberland owners not enrolled in CUVA or FLPA.”
Perhaps the most important aspect of this legislation is that it keeps forestland as a viable, and profitable, investment for all forest landowners while maintain- ing the funding for rural communities. According to an analysis from the
University of Georgia, some counties, like Hancock County, are set to gain a sig- nificantly larger amount from the change in the FLPA formula.
“Hancock County and the City of Sparta are my ancestral home, and the community here is important to me,” Peden said. “I am glad this bill takes a step in the right direction to give private forest owners some tax relief while maintaining the funding for our county schools and public services.”
GEORGIA FORESTLAND PROPERTY TAXES
No. of Acres Enrolled
% of Total Taxed Forestland in Georgia
Average Property Tax Per Acre
Conservation Use Value Assessment
9.4 million
49%
$5.62
Forest Land Protection Act
5.2 million
27%
$5.02
Rural Woodlands
4.7 million
24%
$15.42
More Info
For more information on House Resolution 51 and House Bill 85,
visit www.gfagrow.org/timbertaxreform.
B&H Forestry Services, LLC 229-392-5371 gerry@bandhforestry.com
Full Service Forestry Company Reforestation & Vegetation Management

fwforestry.net

fountainsland.com
FORESTRY SOLUTIONS
THAT MEET
YOUR OBJECTIVES.
Fifty Years and Growing
FOREST RESOURCE SERVICES INC.
Specializing in Land and Timber Management & Sales
BOBBY D. BROWN
Registered Forester GA Number 2164 Licensed Realtor in GA Number 165520
20364 GA Hwy #3 Thomasville, GA 31792
229.221.3016 • brown@ftrealty.com
26 | GEORGIA FORESTRY