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An Act Regarding the Commercial Forestry Excise Tax
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §2722, as amended by PL 1987, c. 362, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§ 2722. Annual tax
An excise tax is imposed upon the privilege of using one's land in commercial forestry enterprise in this State.
 
1.  Rate; definition.     An owner of commercial forest land shall pay an excise tax at the rate of 26¢ per acre. For the purposes of this subsection, "commercial forest land" means land that is classified or that is eligible for classification as forest land pursuant to the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law, except that "commercial forest land" does not include land described in section 573, subsection 3, paragraph B or C when all commercial harvesting of forest products is prohibited. In determining whether land not classified under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law is eligible for classification under that law, all facts and circumstances must be considered, including whether the landowner is engaged in the forest products business and the land is being used in that business or there is a forest management plan for commercial use of the land or a particular parcel of land has been harvested for commercial purposes within the preceding 5 years.
 
2.  Exemption.     The State, municipalities and the Federal Government are not subject to the excise tax imposed by this section.
 
3.  Minimum tax.     If the amount calculated under this chapter is less than $5, the amount assessed must be $5.
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §2723-A, as amended by PL 1997, c. 24, Pt. C, §6 and PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §6, is repealed.
Sec. 3. 36 MRSA §2724, as amended by PL 1993, c. 452, §15, is repealed.
 
SUMMARY
Currently the State Tax Assessor is required annually to calculate and determine the rate of the excise tax imposed upon owners of land used for commercial forestry using information provided by the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry regarding expenditures and revenue for forest fire protection for the current and preceding year.
This bill simplifies the process and provides greater predictability by establishing an excise tax of 26¢ per acre of commercial forest land. This bill also repeals the current formula and a definition that is no longer necessary due to the repeal of the formula.