29
Third Session, 48th General Assembly 67 Elizabeth II, 2018
BILL 29
AN ACT TO AMEND THE FORESTRY ACT
Received and Read the First Time.................................................................................................
Second Reading.................................................................................................................................
Committee..........................................................................................................................................
Third Reading.....................................................................................................................................
Royal Assent......................................................................................................................................
HONOURABLE GERRY BYRNE Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources
Ordered to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Forestry Act to prescribe formulas for the calculation of the annual tax rate and the fair market value of productive forest land.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE FORESTRY ACT

Analysis

1. S.2 Amdt.
Definitions

2. Ss.63.1 to 63.3 Added
63.1 Annual tax rate
63.2 Fair market value
63.3 Publication in Gazette

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cF-23
as amended

1. Section 2 of the Forestry Act is amended by adding immediately after paragraph (k) the following:

(k.1) "gross merchantable timber volume" means the volume of the main stem of a merchantable tree excluding allowance for a 15.0 centimetre stump and a top diameter of 8.0 centimetres;

(k.2) "merchantable tree" means a tree having an outside bark diameter of 9.0 centimetres or greater at a point 1.3 metres above mean ground level;

2. The Act is amended by adding immediately after section 63 the following:

Annual tax rate

63.1 For the purposes of calculating the managed land tax, each year the minister shall calculate and set the annual tax rate in accordance with the following formula:

T = (C_fj + C_ij - R_fj)
N x L

where

T = the annual tax rate for the current year;

N = 5;

C_fj = the cost of fire protection for the province, excluding Labrador, during the 5 year period immediately before the taxation year;

C_ij = the cost of insect and disease protection for the province, excluding Labrador, during the 5 year period immediately before the taxation year, except operational spray costs;

R_fj = the forest-related revenues during the 5 year period immediately before the taxation year arising from

(i) the Canadian Interagency Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement, and

(ii) the costs received under the Forest Fires Liability and Compensation Regulations; and

L = the total land area in hectares of the province, excluding Labrador and water bodies larger than 2 hectares.

Fair market value

63.2 For the purposes of calculating the unmanaged land tax, each year the minister shall calculate and set the fair market value of productive forest in accordance with the following formula:

FMV = GMTV PFL

x RR

where

FMV = the fair market value of productive forest for the current year;

GMTV = the average gross merchantable timber volume of all merchantable trees;

RR = the prevailing royalty rate for pulpwood obtained from areas not serviced by a government owned access road; and

PFL = the area of productive forest land of the province, excluding Labrador.

Publication in Gazette

63.3 Each year the minister shall publish in the Gazette the annual tax rate referred to in section 63.1 and the fair market value referred to in section 63.2.

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