LAND ECONOMICS

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case of forest land. With present practices of taxation, forest
land is usually taxed under the general property tax, like agricultural
 land. Since forest land produces an income-yielding crop
only once in from 50 to 150 years, every inducement is offered to
cut the timber and get rid of the land as fast as possible, thus
avoiding an accumulation of taxes while the land is yielding no
income. Except for fast maturing trees, land suitable for growing
 forests is not reforested because of the heavy tax burden on
private owners. This situation has prompted many economists
to recommend a revision of forest taxation policies and a greater
amount of publicly owned forest land.
The theory underlying the present system of taxing land under
the general property tax in the United States is founded ostensibly
on the “ability-te-pay” principle. Ownership of land signifies
saved wealth or the possession of the ability to pay taxes. With
the increasing expenditures of local governments, particularly
for general welfare purposes, these savings in the form of landed
property have been called upon to make heavy contributions.
At the same time expenditures for consumption are almost
untaxed, relatively speaking. Many economists are calling
attention to the fact that this puts a premium on spending and a
penalty on saving. In other words, this inequitable distribution
of taxes between savings and expenditures is rapidly approaching
the point of encouraging consumption and discouraging productive
 savings. Consequently, there is considerable scientific support
 for the view that some of the heavy direct taxes upon land
should be transferred to indirect taxes upon certain forms of
consumption, 7.e., that a broadening of the base of taxation is
necessary to avoid confiscation of land values.
There are many other phases of land economics that represent
new developments. The last word has not been said on any
phase of the subject. As to what extent the theories that are
being elaborated are modifying and enriching economic theory,
the future will have to decide. As research into the facts continues,
 we expect that land economics, in practice and in theory,
will be considerably revised. Only a beginning has been made.
But the demand for new knowledge about land and the human
relations focussing on the land encourages all those working in
the field to push ahead to new levels of accomplishment.