LD 1328
pg. 1
LD 1328 Title Page An Act To Amend the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law To Encourage Public Access LD 1328 Title Page
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LR 1635
Item 1

 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

 
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §574-A, as amended by PL 1989, c. 508, §9, is
repealed and the following enacted in its place:

 
§574-A.__Ineligibility

 
1.__Recreational lease.__The Legislature finds that when the
value of a recreational use lease exceeds the value of the tree
growth that can be extracted on a sustained basis per acre as
determined pursuant to section 576, then the land is no longer
primarily used for the continuous growth of forest products. This
finding is sufficient cause to remove from taxation under this
subchapter those parcels that are more valuable in terms of
recreation and are being leased on that basis. Notwithstanding
section 573, this subchapter does not apply to any parcel of
forest land that is leased for consideration to any individual or
group of individuals to use for recreational purposes if that
parcel of land exceeds 100 acres and if the consideration for
that lease per acre exceeds the value of the growth that can be
extracted on a sustained basis per acre as determined pursuant to
section 576.__The owner of the leased parcels shall submit a copy
of the lease or leases on land subject to the provisions of this
subsection to the State Tax Assessor for land in the unorganized
territory and the municipal assessors in organized
municipalities. The State Tax Assessor or the municipal assessor
shall determine if the value of the lease exceeds the sustained
growth value.__If the value of the lease is determined to exceed
the sustained growth value, the owner of the forest land has 60
days from the date of notification to either terminate the lease,
amend the lease to comply with this section or withdraw the land
covered by the lease from the tree growth taxation under this
subchapter. In the case of withdrawal, such action is subject to
section 581 of this subchapter.

 
2.__Recreational access limited.__A parcel of land to which
public access for recreational use is limited or prohibited by
the owner of that parcel is ineligible for taxation under this
subchapter.

 
SUMMARY

 
This bill exempts from the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law benefits
a parcel of land to which public access for recreational use is
restricted or prohibited.


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