SWOAM Advocacy

Testimony of Tom Doak
Executive Director
Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine
In Support of LD 736
An Act to Protect Small Woodland Owners
March 1, 2007

Senator Perry, Representative Piotti and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation, my name is Tom Doak, Executive Director of the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine (SWOAM) speaking today in favor of LD 736 An Act To Protect Small Woodland Owners.

You have heard how important the Tree Growth Tax Law program is in previous legislation this Committee has considered this session. In short, for thousands of small landowners, the Tree Growth Tax Law program makes it possible to afford to own and manage forest land for the long-term. Landowners agree to follow certain requirements, including not to develop their land, and in return the State agrees to value the land for tax purposes based on its current use as forestland and not its ability to grow houses and shopping centers. This makes a huge difference in keeping land as forestland and providing societal benefits such as wildlife habitat, clean water, maintenance of the character of Maine and many others.

We believe that the Tree Growth Tax Law should be administered fairly, and that anyone in the program who is not complying with the requirements should be removed. However, there is a provision of the law that has tripped people up and continues to cause problems for those that meet all the intents of the law.

One of the requirements for landowners enrolled in the Tree Growth Tax Law Program is to have a management plan written by a licensed professional forester for the property. In addition, every 10 years the landowner must submit to the Assessor, a statement from a licensed forester that the landowner is managing the property in accordance with the management plan. Failure to submit the 10-year statement on time constitutes noncompliance. Assessors must remove from the Program any land in non conformance.

We support the management plan and 10-year notice requirement. However, in reality it is easy for landowners to forget that every 10 years they must submit a statement. Sometimes a spouse who knew of the requirement passes away and the other spouse isn’t aware of the requirement; and sometimes, without a reminder, landowners forget. How many of us would remember that 10 years from today, we have to file something with the municipality?

Nothing in law requires the Assessor to notify the landowner of the filing deadline, but a number of them do, including the State Tax Assessor for the unorganized areas of the State. But many do not. Sometimes, communities allow a “grace” period. But the law seems pretty clear, and recent rulings by the State Board of Property Tax Review have shown that assessors can withdraw landowners and assess full penalties for failure to file the 10-year notice even if all other requirements of the Tree Growth Tax Law program are met by the landowner and the assessor made no attempt to remind the landowner of the filing deadline. While this may be legal, we believe it is wrong and not consistent with the original intent of the program. Forcing people out of Tree Growth who have met all the requirements, including following the plan, but who forget to file the proper notice is counter to the purposes behind the program. Landowners forced out and facing large penalties are likely to sell part or all of their property to pay the tax bill, defeating one of the very purposes of the program in the first place.

This bill is not designed to force Assessors/municipalities to do anything. But if an Assessor wants to remove land from the Tree Growth Tax Law Program and the only non-conformance is that the landowner has forgotten about the 10-year filing requirement, then the landowner would be allowed a reasonable amount of time to submit the required document before the land is removed. We think this is only right and fair.