Reis: Bill to Ease Concern Over Woodland Taxes

January 23, 2006

Springfield.….State Representative David Reis (R-Ste. Marie) is co-sponsoring legislation to delay implementation of a Department of Revenue initiative aimed at reclassifying recreational woodland assessments. The bill also creates a task force whose responsibilities will include developing a more reasonable tax rate and to clarify specifications for certified forest management plans.

A new Department of Revenue initiative scheduled to take effect this year changes how farmland is assessed by updating the valuation based on the economic productivity of the land. "If you have good black soil that has a good productivity index (PI) over a period of years, that farmland will be assessed higher than farmland with poorer soil. But when it comes to timberland its classification and assessment can be a very confusing concept."

Reis said with timberland, there is no way to determine soil productivity unless timber land is producing a crop for the lumber industry or nut industry. The new initiative forces the reclassification of some land because the option for describing a plot with a residential classification has been taken away. This can end up causing landowners to pay a much higher tax bill.

"HB 4701 is being introduced first and foremost to delay implementation of the tax increases for two years and second to create a task force responsible for finding workable solutions to the exorbitant real estate taxes that land owners may be required to pay on idle woodlands" Reis said. "These higher taxes are simply unacceptable with many rates increasing from $2 an acre to as much as $50 an acre."  

One way that land owners can exempt themselves from these higher rates is to have a certified forest management plan on file with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

"This task force will also be responsible for developing uniform statewide standards as to what constitutes a certified timber management plan. They also will determine what qualifications an individual wishing to participate in developing these types of plans must have in regards to education and training" stated Reis. Anyone seeking more information on HB 4701 can do so by visiting www.ilga.gov or call Rep. Reis at (618) 392-0108.