|
|
 |
|
12/16/2009
FLPA acreage now stands at 1.9 million |
|
The Forest Land Protection Act (FLPA) was implemented earlier this year following overwhelming approval by Georgia voters in 2008 to amend the state's Constitution to create the new property tax program for large, contiguous forest properties. According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, 1.9 million acres spread across 107 counties have been enrolled in the program to date. More than 40 county revenue digests still have not been returned to the Georgia Department of Revenue; therefore, it is not known what the impact of FLPA enrollment will be when those counties are taken into account.
The FLPA program is similar to the original Conservation Use Valuation Assessment (CUVA) program in that it provides a lower property tax for owners willing to place their property in a covenant insuring that it will not be developed while under covenant. CUVA requires a 10 year covenant and is restricted to 2,000 acres owned by private, non-industrial landowners. The FLPA 15 year covenant program is open to any type of owner and has no size restrictions, although all land placed in a covenant must be contiguous.
For various reasons, some of the state's largest landowners decided to forego enrolling any properties in the FLPA program in 2009 but are expected to take a closer look at the opportunities to enroll certain properties in 2010. More than 3,500 land parcels have been signed up for FLPA since May. Unlike CUVA, the Forest Land Protection Act program requires the state to reimburse counties for a large portion of property tax revenue lost due to enrollment in the new program. The level of reimbursement estimated for property enrolled in 2009 is $9.65 million.
The county with most acres enrolled in FLPA - 91,178 acres - is Clinch County. Brooks County is estimated to receive the largest state reimbursement - $776,000, while Early County claims the largest number of parcels enrolled in FLPA at 227.
"The Forest Land Protection Act is doing what it was intended to do," says Georgia Forestry Association spokesman Steve McWilliams. "Large, contiguous forest properties are being protected from conversion to non-forest uses and are finally being taxed at a rate more closely related to the actual use of the land."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Adobe Acrobat
Reader is required to view .pdf files. Obtain a free copy by
clicking here |
|
