Coos County Commissioners: Protect North Country towns and industries by passing HB 123

New Hampshire’s yield tax on timber, often called the “timber tax,” was established in 1949 and has been locally collected to offset property taxes ever since. The tax is constitutionally permitted by an amendment to Part II, Article V of the state constitution, which was ratified in 1942 by over two-thirds of New Hampshire’s voters. The yield tax on timber has been an essential tool for promoting conservation, helping the timber industry, and stabilizing municipal revenues in heavily timbered towns.

In the originally passed legislation from 1949, the legislature declared the policy’s intent was to “provide a continuous, sustained yield of wood and timber for New Hampshire wood-using industries and to stabilize employment in those industries, to maintain forest lands at their maximum productiveness.” The legislative intent also stated the legislation would, “encourage conservation of the forest resources of (New Hampshire) by releasing growing wood and timber from the yearly burden of local property taxes and substituting a yield tax.” The timber tax is very effective in achieving these goals, promoting a robust, stable timber industry that helped restore forested lands. The current policy strikes an excellent balance between industry and conservation.