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10/5/2009
Impact of FLPA begins to emerge as Revenue Department releases enrollment stats |
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In its first year as the newest conservation use property tax program for Georgia timberland, the Forest Land Protection Act (FLPA) is putting up some impressive numbers. This despite some provisions of the law and regulations adopted this year that have left some of Georgia's largest landowners on the sidelines.
FLPA was implemented this year after overwhelming voter approval of Amendment 1 in the November 2008 elections. The new program differs from the original conservation use program, known as CUVA, adopted almost 20 years ago in that it removes acreage and ownership restrictions, thus expanding the number of landowners that can receive conservation use tax treatment.
FLPA requires a 15 year covenant as compared with CUVA which features a 10 year covenant. A breach of a FLPA covenant carries stiffer penalties that a CUVA breach. Also, unlike CUVA, FLPA provides that counties will be reimbursed by the state for a significant portion of the tax loss resulting from the program.
In a year that has witnessed an unprecedented delay in counties filing tax digests, with 110 digests submitted to the Department of Revenue as of September 30, enrollments in FLPA stood at 1.31 million acres involving 2400 tax parcels. The average tax parcel size is 540 acres.
Clinch County in southeast Georgia claims the highest FLPA enrollment at 91 thousand acres. Quitman County experienced the largest percentage revenue loss - 8.92% - before a reimbursement is calculated, according to Revenue Department reports, which also show that Brooks County will be due the largest state reimbursement - $777,000. The estimated total state reimbursement at this point is $7.2 million.
Digests had been received from 110 of 159 counties at September 30.
For each taxable year beginning in 2010, all applications for conservation use assessment, both CUVA and FLPA, must be filed "on or before the last day for filing ad valorem tax returns in the county for the tax year for which such conservation use is sought." In most counties the due date for the application will be April 1, but in some counties the date will be March 1. In a case where there is an appeal of a reassessment, the application may be filed in conjunction with the appeal.
Click here to view the entire Department of Revenue FLPA participation report.
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