2007 California Revenue and Taxation Code Chapter 1. General Provisions And Definitions

CA Codes (rtc:38101-38110)

38101.  This part is known and may be cited as the "Timber Yield Tax
Law."


38101.5.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the forest
resources and timberlands of the state are among the most valuable of
the natural renewable resources of the state and that there is great
concern throughout the state relating to their protection,
restoration, and utilization.
   (b) The Legislature further finds and declares that the forest
resources and timberlands of the state produce timber and other
forest products, recreational opportunities, regional economic
vitality, employment opportunities, and aesthetic enjoyment while
providing watershed protection and maintaining fisheries and
wildlife.
   (c) The Legislature further finds and declares that it is the
policy of this state to encourage prudent and responsible forest
resource management calculated to serve the public's need for timber
and other forest products, while giving consideration to the public's
need for watershed protection, fisheries and wildlife, employment
opportunities, regional economic vitality, and recreational
opportunities alike in this and future generations.
   (d) The Legislature further finds that it is not the intent of the
Legislature by the enactment of this part to take private property
for public use without payment of just compensation in violation of
the California and United States Constitutions.



38102.  Except where the context otherwise requires, the definitions
in this chapter govern the construction of this part.



38103.  "Timber" means trees of any species maintained for eventual
harvest for forest products purposes, whether planted or of natural
growth, standing or down, including Christmas trees, on privately or
publicly owned land, but does not mean nursery stock.



38103.1.  "Timberland" means privately or publicly owned land which
is devoted to and used for growing and harvesting timber, or for
growing and harvesting timber and compatible uses, and which is
capable of growing an average annual volume of wood fiber of at least
15 cubic feet per acre.



38104.  "Timber owner" means any person who owns timber immediately
prior to felling or the first person who acquires either the legal
title or beneficial title to timber after it has been felled from
land owned by a federal agency or any other person or agency or
entity exempt from property taxation under the Constitution or laws
of the United States or under the Constitution or laws of the State
of California.  "Timber owner" includes any person who owns or
acquires legal title or beneficial title to downed timber in this
state.
   "Timber owner" also includes the seller of timber located on land
owned by that seller if the timber sales agreement, contract, or
other document provides for the payment of the purchase price on the
basis of actual timber volume scaled and does not contain a passage
of title clause.



38105.   "Rate adjustment county" means the following counties:
Alpine, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Mendocino,
Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama,
Trinity, and Yuba.


38106.  "Person" includes any individual, firm, partnership, joint
venture, association, social club, fraternal organization,
corporation, limited liability company, estate, trust, business
trust, receiver, trustee, syndicate, this state, any county, city and
county, municipality, district, or other political subdivision of
the state, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.



38108.  "Scaling date" means the date when the quantity of timber
harvested, by species, is first definitely determined.
   Except for national forest timber, the scaling date shall be no
later than the date of delivery of the felled trees to the storage or
wood-processing area, whichever is first, or an alternative approved
by the board.  For national forest timber, the definitely determined
timber volume included in forest service, United States Department
of Agriculture, billing statements to timber sale contract holders,
or an alternative approved by the board after a public hearing, shall
be the basis for tax payment.


38109.  "Immediate harvest value" means the amount that each species
or subclassification of timber would sell for on the stump at a
voluntary sale made in the ordinary course of business for purposes
of immediate harvest.  Such immediate harvest values shall be
expressed in terms of amount to the nearest dollar per thousand board
feet, net Scribner Decimal C log rule, or other unit of measure
chosen by the board, and shall be determined in a manner which makes
reasonable and adequate allowances for age, size, quality, costs of
removal, accessibility to point of conversion, market conditions and
all other relevant factors as determined by the board.
   For the purposes of this section, the immediate harvest value of
Christmas trees shall be the sale price of the Christmas trees in
quantities of 100 trees or more in the market area nearest to the
place where the trees are cut.
   Prior to December 31, 1976, and periodically thereafter as
determined by the board, the board in consultation with the Timber
Advisory Committee and with the California Division of Forestry and
after public hearings, shall adopt rules and regulations establishing
a standard unit of measure and establishing conversion factors which
convert prevalent units of measure in use in California to Scribner
Decimal C log rule or other unit of measure chosen as a standard.




38110.  "Yield tax" means the dollar amount derived by multiplying
the net volume of harvested timber by the appropriate immediate
harvest value per unit and by the yield tax rate.