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New Forestry Tax Law:
$$$$
Saving You Money $$$$
The Benzie Conservation District is here to provide the services you
need to properly care for your property. The District can provide forestry and watershed management plans and advice.
New forestry tax laws could mean your property is exempt from the 18-mill school tax, or that the tax rate would
be specified at a very attractive per acre rate.
Proper forest management is an important part of ensuring healthy woodlands, prosperous farms, and clean rivers
and lakes. Preliminary research indicates there are approximately 1650 parcels in Benzie County that may be eligible
for the new programs relating to forestry activities.
To see if you can use these programs start by considering the acreage requirements. In addition to meeting minimum
acreage criteria, the property must be considered contiguous. In other words if you were drawing a map you must
be able to make an unbroken line around the parcel; in cases where parcels touch at a corner, they are considered
contiguous. For parcels of 20 or more contiguous acres, there is an exemption from local school district tax if
you meet the additional criteria. For parcels of 40 or more contiguous acres there is a reduced specified tax rate
if you enter into a sustainable forestry conservation easement.
There are more details than can be covered here, so please call us for more information at 882-4391. These programs
could save you money while meeting your land management goals. The Benzie Conservation District staff wants to
make caring for the environment easy for you, wants to work with you, and looks forward to your calls. Working
together helps protect the natural resources of the county and ensures a quality of life we can all enjoy.
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