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CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!
October 20, 2004 News Conference for Forest
Owners Sponsored by Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc. Conference
was recorded October 20, 2004.
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Hayes D. Brown
starting time: (00:00) |
Moderator
Hayes D. Brown, attorney and forest owner, will moderate this
news conference. Hayes' email address is
hbrown@hayesbrown.com.
Click Here to View & Hear Prior News Conferences.
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Dr. William C. Siegel
(00:35) |
Improvements in Capital Gains & Expensing to Become Law
Bill Siegel, nationally famous
tax expert in forestry circles, and Frank Stewart, Executive Director of the
Forest Landowners Tax Council, played lead roles in the reform of the
pay-as-cut rule known as
IRS Section
631(b). The lead Congressional proponent for Section 631(b) reform
was Alabama's Senator Sessions to whom a great deal of thanks is due for his
efforts. The reform of Sec. 631(b),
still to be signed into law by the President, will allow
capital gains treatment for all lump-sum timber sales by
nonindustrial owners -- as opposed to only some lump-sum sales under the old
law. Pay-as-cut sales will still be optional but will not be required for
capital gain eligibility regardless of the status of the timber owner. The
effective date of this change is January 1, 2005. A second tax-law
change that will benefit forest owners allows expensing of up
to $10,000 of reforestation costs in the year of occurrence with all
remaining costs, regardless of amount, able to be amortized over 84 months.
This is a change from the old 10 percent tax credit on the first $10,000 of
planting expenses each year and 84 month amortization of the first $9,500 of
such expenses each year, with the remaining costs being capitalized and
recovered only when the timber was sold. The effective date of this change
will be the date that the President signs the bill -- probably some time in
2004.
Phone: (504) 914-1868 (phone number updated 02/28/13)
Email: wcsieg@aol.com
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Steve McKinney
(05:02) |
Jeffco Trees & Forests
Worth $248 Million Per Year
Steve McKinney is the
assistant director of the Jefferson County
Storm Water Management
Authority, Inc., based in Homewood, Alabama. The Authority recently
released a
2003 State of the Forest study which showed that the rural &
urban forests in Jefferson County provide air and water pollution abatement
services to public and private entities worth
$248 million per year (Of
roughly 750,000 acres of total land in the county about 400,000 are
forested). The study also reported that, "...while forested land can
lose about [156 pounds of soil per acre per year], developing areas
can lose 25,000 to 50,000 tons per acre per year." Currently owners
of forestland in Jefferson County pay an annual storm water fee of $5 per
tax parcel to the Authority. See:
Cleaning Urban Runoff:
A Forest Product Worthy of Payment
Phone: (205) 943-7037x229
Email: smckinney@swma.com
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Dr. John L. Greene
(09:47) |
Tax Deduction Available for Casualty Losses
John Greene is a research forester in the
Evaluation of
Legal, Tax, and Economic Influences on Forest Resource Management
unit of the USDA-Forest Service's
Southern Research Station in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mac Lupold, a
Camden, South Carolina Consulting Forester with Hurricane Hugo salvage
experience, reported to Governor Riley's
Alabama Forest Recovery Task Force that 75 percent of the
unrecoverable losses due to Hurricane Hugo were borne by forest landowners.
In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan, the only good news
may be that there's a tax deduction available for casualty losses.
If your trees were destroyed or damaged so badly you have to remove them and
start over, Greene says that you qualify for this deduction. John also
highlights a 1999
IRS Revenue Ruling that changed the way one can
calculate a casualty loss, how the Ruling
works now, and how a Presidentially declared disaster can change filing
dates to your benefit.
Additional Resources
Phone: (919) 549-4093
Email: johnlgreene@fs.fed.us
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Dr. Ed Wilson
(13:14) |
Timber Casualty Loss Insurance is (and has been)
Available
Ed Wilson is an agent with the
Davis-Garvin Agency,
Inc.
based in Columbia, South Carolina. You may think of your woodlands as a
long term investment, but what assurance is there that your investment
will be safe as your trees face fire, lightning, flood, ice, theft and wind
(think Ivan)? Many people believe that standing timber insurance is
prohibitively expensive, to the point of inapproachability, thus calling for
the need for various
government programs and bureaucracies. Wilson states that affordable
and tax deductible protection is currently available in the private
sector
and describes his company's Standing Timber
Insurance Program.
Phone: 1-800-845-3163x151
Email: ewilson@davisgarvin.com
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Dr. Catherine M. Mater
(15:53) |
Survey: Lack of Offspring Interest Drives Disposal of
Family Lands
Catherine Mater is president of
Mater Engineering in Corvallis, Oregon. She heads a
benchmark research project focused on understanding what drives
decisions by non-industrial private forestland (NIPF) owners in regards
to passing on family lands to the next generation. Her startling results
show that lack of interest among their offspring is a primary reason
NIPFs sell their lands despite what forestry-related educators and
information providers believe is the reason NIPFs sell their land,
such as taxes or real estate price pressures. Mater discusses her surprising
results and explains this incredible disconnect between forest owners and
forestry information providers. The next step: how do you get kids
interested in the family lands and willing to take on the responsibility?
Who are the NIPFs?
- They do not belong to forest industry or
woodlot owner associations
- They only periodically rely on technical
assistance advisory services
- They manage their own forestlands
Some Highlights of the Survey Results
- 79% of non-joiner NIPFs surveyed wish
to keep their forestlands in family hands, but only 34% of those
landowners with children have involved their offspring in the management
process
- Overall, non-joiner NIPFs in northern
states appear significantly more concerned about taxes than their
southern counterparts. Editor's note: Could that be due to our lower
property taxes?
Phone: (541) 753-7335
Email: catherine@mater.com
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DeWitt Braud (19:42) |
How to Get Aerial Photos of Your Property
DeWitt Braud is
an instructor and the director of Louisiana State University's
Remote Sensing
Laboratory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Are you interested in aerial
photos of your property but unsure of costs and availability? Braud offers
information on how you can acquire low cost, basic, low-tech aerial imagery
of your property without the use of technologically intimidating jargon.
Order Aerial Photographs, Maps,
Elevation Data, Land Cover
- U.S. Geological Survey
EROS Data Center
47914 252nd Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57198-0001
Tel: 1-800-252-4547
Tel: (605) 594-6151
TDD: (605) 594-6933
Fax: (605) 594-6589
Email: custserv@usgs.gov
Web Resources:
Phone: (225) 578-6177
Email: dbraud1@lsu.edu
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Chris Erwin (22:41) |
Invitation to Join
Leadership Development Program
Chris Erwin is Education
Coordinator for the
Alabama Forestry
Association. The Association has developed a Forestry Leadership
Program for individuals 22 to 35 years of age and Chris joins us today to
invite you or a young friend or relative to participate. There are 20 spots
available, and the program will consist of 6 sessions per year. Chris
explains what he's looking for in an applicant, how to apply, and what all
an individual could get out of the program if accepted.
Application for Leadership Development Program
Phone: (334) 265-8733
Email: roates@alaforestry.org
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Bryan Burhans
(25:26) |
Prescribed Burning
Improves Turkey Habitat
Bryan Burhans
is the director of Land Management Programs with the
National Wild Turkey
Federation
in Edgefield, South Carolina. Landowners interested in improving their land
for wildlife, including turkeys, will find creating openings or planting
food plots will successfully attract that wildlife. If you have property you
utilize for hunting, it might well be worth your time and investment to
consider a prescribed burning program. Burhans explains how prescribed
burning can be a cost-effective way of controlling brush and attracting more
turkeys to your property.
Phone: 1-800-843-6983x3810
Email: bburhans@nwtf.net
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