Page 19 - Georgia Forestry - Winter 2018

Dave Tenny
NAFO PRESIDENT AND CEO
Tax Reform a Big Win
for Forest Landowners
The recent tax-reform overhaul approved by Congress provided good news for forest landowners in the U.S., as recognition of the unique, long-term nature of growing timberland remained intact.
In December 2017, just before the Congressional recess, both the House and the Senate voted to keep the four long-standing, pro- growth timber tax provisions in the federal tax code, including:
● Long-term capital gains treatment of timber revenue
● Deductibility of timber-growing expenses
● Real estate investment trust (REIT) rules
● The deductibility of up to $10,000 of reforestation expenses
These provisions are critically important to private forest landowners, and NAFO President and CEO Dave Tenny believes it was the most crucial portion of the tax-reform package.
“Forest owners of all types — from family-owned businesses and small landowners, to TIMOs and REITs — rely on these provisions to continue their investment in healthy, productive timberland,” Tenny said. “Growing trees is uniquely long term and capital-intensive, unlike any other business or investment. By keeping these timber tax provisions in place, Congress did its part to keep working forests intact by ensuring that the tax code keeps timber competitive with other kinds of investments.”
Congress also included a provision that temporarily doubles
the exemption amount
for estate, gift and gen-
eration-skipping taxes
from the $5 million
base, set in 2011, to a
new $10 million base,
good for tax years 2018
through 2025. The
exemption is indexed
for inflation, so an
individual can shelter
$11.2 million in assets
from these taxes, and a
couple could be eligible for $22.4 million.
Forests in the Farm Bill
Early in our nation’s history, on the tail end of the Great Depres- sion, Congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, also known as the Farm Bill. Since then, it has been the marquee responsibility of the agricultural committees in the House and Senate to consider the Farm Bill, which has evolved into a comprehensive package of agriculture, conservation, rural development, research and food assistance. With policymakers preparing to consider the 2018 Farm Bill, organizations such
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