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so there is no financial beneifit if in a unorginized territory?
Treegrowth land is assessed at a lower rate everywhere. That is the benefit of treegrowth land.
Living in a UT, the property tax mil-rates are lower. If you own a home in a UT, it is taxed less, that is the benefit of living in a UT. UTs have much less municipal services provided to them, so it is cheaper to operate a UT.
Treegrowth land in a UT, generally has 'super low' taxes. Because you are taking advantage of both factors, treegrowth and UT.
could you do that every year or after big storms, last year we had multible big storms in mass that knocked over and damaged trees.
In accordance with my Forestry Management Plan, I can cut down trees for a wide selection of reasons, any year, or every year.
I can harvest firewood. I can clear access roads. I can attempt to make better deer browse.
We have looked at, and debated, setting up a private cemetery on our land [along with it being in Treegrowth]. So I could cut down trees, to clear a small area for body interment, and re-plant a fruit tree over the site of each grave.
One of my customers bought 80 acres and selected the spot where he wanted to be buried. He was killed while driving a fire truck to a fire. He is buried in a plain pine box in the spot where he wanted to be. In a few years that pine box will settle and the family will fill in the ground with the extra earth set aside for that purpose. His fellow firemen dug the grave. I had my tractor and back hoe available in case they found a large stone. I never had to take the tractor off the trailer. The biggest stone was smaller than a fist.
Location: MA/ME (the way life should not be / the way it should be)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man
One of my customers bought 80 acres and selected the spot where he wanted to be buried. He was killed while driving a fire truck to a fire. He is buried in a plain pine box in the spot where he wanted to be. In a few years that pine box will settle and the family will fill in the ground with the extra earth set aside for that purpose. His fellow firemen dug the grave. I had my tractor and back hoe available in case they found a large stone. I never had to take the tractor off the trailer. The biggest stone was smaller than a fist.
Happy but sad story. Its sad that he died, but happy as he got buried where he WANTED to be buried. IMO as long as its not a insane request, you should try to follow it (i.e. wanting to be buried on top of a high mountain if your family is to old to get you up there, or really far away and expensive, unless you leave enough money to cover expenses)
im confused, so if the owner lets the land expire (im assuming the 10 year mark), they are taxed?
Tree Growth, or Farm and Open Space programs are intended to be long-term programs, enrolling your land in one of these programs offers the benefit of reduced tax rates. Removing land from one of these programs requires one to pay a penalty of a percentage of the taxes that would have been paid had the land *not* been in one of those program.
Calculation of penalty for Tree Growth program- the penalty will be an amount equal to 30% of the difference between the 100% Tree Growth valuation (of the classified land on the assessment date immediately preceding withdrawal) and the just value of the property on the date of withdrawal. If the land has been classified for more than 10 years, the following percentages apply: [CENTER]10 years or less 30%
11 years 29%
12 years 28%
13 years 27%
14 years 26%
15 years 25%
16 years 24%
17 years 23%
18 years 22%
19 years 21%
20 years or more 20% [/CENTER]
Pursuant to the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, section 8, the withdrawal penalty imposed may not be less than “the tax which would have been imposed over the 5 years preceding that change of use had that real estate been assessed at its highest and best use, less all taxes paid on that real estate over the preceding 5 years, and interest.”
If your plan expires, then you you have additional problems, not only must pay the portion of the taxes that you didn't pay because of it being in the program if you do not get back in compliance, but there are other penalties as well.
No earlier than 185 days prior to a deadline established by 36 M.R.S.A. §574-B, if the landowner has not yet complied with the requirements of that section, the assessor must provide the landowner with written notice by certified mail informing the landowner of the following:
The statutory requirements that need to be met to comply with §574-B and the date of the deadline for compliance, or the deadline by which the parcel may be transferred to open space classification;
Failure to meet the deadline for complying with §574-B or transferring the parcel to open space classification, results in a supplemental assessment of $500; and
Continued noncompliance will lead to a subsequent supplemental assessment of $500.
If the assessor issues the notice of compliance less than 120 days before the compliance deadline, the owner has 120 days from the date of the notice to provide the assessor with the documentation to achieve compliance with §574-B. The notice must specify the date by which the owner must comply.
Administrative penalty - If the landowner fails to provide the assessor with the documentation to achieve compliance with §574-B or transfer the parcel to open space classification by the deadline specified in the notice, the assessor shall impose a $500 penalty to be assessed and collected as a supplemental assessment in accordance with §713-B.
Second administrative penalty - At the expiration of 6 months, if the landowner has not complied with §574-B or transferred the parcel to open space classification, the assessor shall impose an additional $500 supplemental assessment in accordance with §713-B.
The assessor shall send notification of the 2nd supplemental assessment by certified mail and notify the landowner that, no later than 6 months from the date of the notice, the landowner must comply with the requirements of §574-B or transfer the parcel to open space classification or the land will be withdrawn from the Tree Growth Tax Law program.
Withdrawal - If the landowner has not complied within 6 months from the date of the 2nd supplemental assessment, the assessor shall remove the parcel from taxation under this subchapter and assess a penalty for the parcel's withdrawal.
A penalty is imposed when forest land is withdrawn from classification under the Tree Growth Tax Law except where the forest land is withdrawn by the exercise or threatened exercise of eminent domain. The penalty applies to the real estate that is withdrawn. Penalties must be assessed and collected as supplemental assessments in accordance with 36 M.R.S.A. §713-B.
This is from the most recent information, Bulletin No. 19, Maine Tree Growth Tax Law
Some towns send out courtesy notices in advance of the expiration of an owner's plan. Other towns wait with excitement, hoping the plan will expire. Here's why. A guy buys a 40 acre lot on a lake with the intent of building a camp. He knows it is in tree growth. He intend to leave 39 acres in tree growth and build his camp on the acre he removes from tree growth.
He goes to the town with his building permit application and his septic design. The town promptly approves his application. The following week the owner gets a bill for $45,000 from the town. The owner show's up the next time the town office is open with the bill in hand.
"What is THIS?"
The town politely explains that the property has been in tree growth for a really long time. The camp lot is worth $150,000 and $45,000 is 30% of $150,000. Have a nice day. Don't like it? Take us to court.
"I want to change my mind. I want to put it back in Tree growth."
"OK, but you took it out. It is out and you still owe the $45.000. Have a nice day"
Most of the features in the new rule that Zymer posted apply to the hapless owner who simply forgot to renew his tree growth plan. My example is a guy who knew his land was in tree growth and chose to withdraw an acre on the shore front of the lake.
Last edited by Northern Maine Land Man; 01-17-2016 at 05:55 AM..
I am happy to live amidst forest that is mostly wildlife habitat. So long as it stays forest, it allows me to raise livestock and a few crops. It also allows for great hunting, trapping, fishing and foraging.
We bought our land already in Treegrowth. I doubt if it will ever be cut again during my lifetime.
It offers a quality of lifestyle that is important to us.
Some towns send out courtesy notices in advance of the expiration of an owner's plan. Other towns wait with excitement, hoping the plan will expire.
No. NMLM, I know that you have some strong opinions on some things and like to make them known. Often, I do not disagree with them, but in this case you are factually incorrect.
36 M.R.S.A. §574 requires that the assessor notify the landowner not earlier than 185 days and not less than 120 days prior to expiration. If he does not, then the town shall have failed in its obligations. Proper notice *must* be given, as a matter of law. If notice is given less than 120 days prior, then the landowner has 120 days from the date notice is given to come into compliance before any penalties can be applied.
Due process must occur before any action is taken against the landowner. Only *after* 120 days have passed since notification, the owner is assessed a $500 fine. And that is just the beginning, after that the owner has an additional 6 months to come into compliance before being assessed an additional $500 fine, and a further 6 months after *that* before the assessor can withdraw the land from the program and apply the withdrawal penalty.
Altogether, the landowner has 1 year plus 120 days from notification to come into compliance before his land is unilaterally withdrawn from the program and the withdrawal penalty assessed. If the owner is not notified, then the town cannot proceed against him. This is state law and the town cannot act differently, even if it wanted to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man
Here's why. A guy buys a 40 acre lot on a lake with the intent of building a camp. He knows it is in tree growth. He intend to leave 39 acres in tree growth and build his camp on the acre he removes from tree growth.
Actually, there are additional stipulations if the property involves waterfront, which I did not quote.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man
He goes to the town with his building permit application and his septic design. The town promptly approves his application. The following week the owner gets a bill for $45,000 from the town. The owner show's up the next time the town office is open with the bill in hand.
"What is THIS?"
The town politely explains that the property has been in tree growth for a really long time. The camp lot is worth $150,000 and $45,000 is 30% of $150,000. Have a nice day. Don't like it? Take us to court.
The 30% figure applies only to land that has been in the program 10 years or less. If we take your "very long time" as being more than 20 years, then the penalty is not more than 20%.
Furthermore, that 20% is only on the *difference* between the assessment (taxes paid) at the 'tree growth' rate and what the assessment would have been at full value, *minus* the dollar amount of the taxes actually paid.
The penalty is *not* on the value of the lot, but on the difference of value of the taxes that were not paid due to the benefit of the program, and is only 20% of that.
The situation is nowhere near as dire as you are making it out to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man
Most of the features in the new rule that Zymer posted apply to the hapless owner who simply forgot to renew his tree growth plan. My example is a guy who knew his land was in tree growth and chose to withdraw an acre on the shore front of the lake.
No, the 'penalty' schedule applies to any land removed from the program for any reason- whether it is by the landowner's request or by the assessor because the landowner failed to comply. The only difference is that the owner who fails to comply (which compliance is nothing more than the written affirmation of the forester that the plan is being followed) can be assessed an additional penalty of not more than $1,000.
What I wrote was not speculation, but came directly from the Maine Constitution, State law, and the official tax bulletin (most recent) issued by the state. Everything that I wrote here, was included in what I posted the first time. Bahfungoo, why you make-a me write it out again? (Said in my very best Italian accent, with appropriate hand gestures...I once dated (for 2 years), and almost married a girl from an Italian family...ah, marrone, that was an experience.)
(And it's not a "new rule", if I recall the date correctly, this has been in effect in much the same form since the program was created in 1972. Lacking any back copies of the laws as they may previously have been written, I can't compare exactly what (if any) changes may have been made, but I don't think it is substantially much different from what it was in the beginning.)
Last year I re-filed my plan with the state. About 4 months before my previous plan ran-out, I started receiving letters from various foresters offering their services. There are clearly some people who monitor this each year.
I spoke with a forester who I see at various meetings and I spoke with my district forester for her advise. We ended up selecting the same forester that we used last time.
I filed the certificate on the month that it was due, and I called the state office a week later to verify that they received it.
.
I did not receive anything from the state office telling me that it was due.
I do not doubt there is a law requiring municipal offices to notify land-owners prior. However I think all Mainers are aware that many things slip through the cracks. Anyone can take any municipality to court over any mistreatment.
Just like the guy who was admitted to a hospital and his town decided to sell his house while he was away. Now they are in court. It becomes a battle of deep-pockets. Can he pay lawyers longer than the town can pay lawyers? We will see.
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