Page 26 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 3 - Summer 2022

Supporting Small Forestry Businesses
Referendum Lets Georgia Voters Choose on Tax Exemption for Forestry Equipment
By Matt Hestad
Georgia’s logging, land management and reforestation businesses represent a key part of the state’s leadership as the number-one forestry state in the nation.
They are the gears that keep our forest economy moving by harvesting trees and delivering them
to mills, managing forest roads and bridges, and preparing the land for seedlings to be sown across
the state. Without the success of these businesses, our state’s mills would be without a sustainable source of wood and our forest landowners would be left without a way to monetize their timber so they can sustainably manage their forest land.
Unfortunately, these small businesses are becoming increasingly vulnerable to inflationary cost increases, a shortage of skilled labor and unique operational challenges. That’s why the Georgia Forestry Association (GFA) is kicking off a campaign to support a statewide referendum that will ask Georgia voters on the November General Election Ballot to approve an ad valorem tax exemption for forestry equipment. If passed, this important provision will deliver much-needed economic relief for the sector — in the form of an exemption that has been enjoyed by agricultural equipment owners for more than 20 years.
In September 2021, GFA conducted a survey of its Board of Directors, asking them to rank issues impacting the forestry community by level of importance. The survey highlighted the vulnerability of the harvest and haul sector, with 69% of respondents putting labor for harvesting, labor for trucking, insurance for trucking and ad valorem tax for forestry equipment in their top five issues of highest priority.
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