ORS 321.015: Levy of privilege taxes upon harvest of timber for certain purposes; exclusion.

(1) For the calendar years beginning January 1, 2026, and January 1, 2027, there is levied a privilege tax of 90.00 cents per thousand feet, board measure, upon taxpayers for the privilege of harvesting of all merchantable forest products harvested on forestlands. Subject to ORS 321.145, the proceeds of the tax shall be transferred as provided in ORS 321.152 (2) to the Forest Research and Experiment Account for use for the forest resource research, experimentation and studies described in ORS 526.215 and for the Forest Research Laboratory established under ORS 526.225. (2)(a) In addition to the tax levied by subsection (1) of this section, there is levied a forest products harvest tax upon taxpayers of one dollar per thousand feet, board measure, for the privilege of harvesting all merchantable forest products harvested on forestlands for the payment of benefits related to fire suppression as provided in ORS 321.005 to 321.185, 321.560 to 321.600 and 477.440 to 477.460. (b)(A) The rate set under paragraph (a) of this subsection for any calendar year shall be adjusted by the percentage, if any, by which the monthly averaged Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region (All Items) for the 12 consecutive months ending August 31 of the prior calendar year exceeds the monthly averaged index for the 12 consecutive months ending August 31, 2024. (B) The adjusted rate computed under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall be rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a cent. (3) For the calendar years beginning January 1, 2026, and January 1, 2027, in addition to the taxes levied under subsections (1) and (2) of this section, there is levied a privilege tax upon taxpayers for the privilege of harvesting all merchantable forest products harvested on forestlands in the amount of 265.44 cents per thousand feet, board measure, for the purpose of administering the Oregon Forest Practices Act in an amount not to exceed 40 percent of the total expenditures approved by the Legislative Assembly for this purpose, including salary adjustments approved by the Legislative Assembly for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. (4) For the calendar years beginning January 1, 2026, and January 1, 2027, in addition to the taxes levied by subsections (1) to (3) of this section, there is levied a privilege tax of 21 cents per thousand feet, board measure, upon taxpayers for the privilege of harvesting all merchantable forest products harvested on forestlands. Subject to ORS 321.145, the proceeds of the tax shall be transferred as provided in ORS 321.152 (5) to the subaccount established pursuant to ORS 350.520 for use by Oregon State University for the purpose of making investments in professional forestry education at the College of Forestry. (5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, the taxes shall be measured by and be applicable to each per thousand feet, board measure, on the total quantity of forest products harvested in this state measured by use of any log scale which is or may be in general use in the logging industry and which is designed to measure total volume of merchantable forest products in board feet. However, if the Department of Revenue finds that the scale used by any taxpayer in computing the taxes due under ORS 321.005 to 321.185 and 321.560 to 321.600 does not accurately reflect the total quantity of merchantable forest products harvested by the taxpayer, it may require the taxpayer to adopt another log scale in general use in the industry which in the department’s opinion will accurately reflect merchantable harvest in board feet. (6) The first 25,000 feet, board measure, of forest products harvested annually by any taxpayer during each calendar year shall be excluded from the total quantity of harvested forest products that constitutes the measure of the taxes under ORS 321.005 to 321.185 and 321.560 to 321.600. (7)(a) Not later than March 10 of each odd-numbered year, the Legislative Assembly shall begin considering the biennial forest products harvest tax rates levied under subsections (1), (3) and (4) of this section. (b) Upon request of the Legislative Revenue Officer or the Legislative Fiscal Officer, the State Forestry Department shall provide the respective officers with relevant timber harvest data for the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection. [1953 c.375 §2; 1957 c.309 §14; 1981 c.321 §10; 1985 c.759 §6; 1989 c.769 §1; 1991 c.459 §273; 1991 c.639 §1; 1993 c.653 §2; 1995 c.507 §1; 1997 c.519 §1; 1999 c.968 §§1,1a; 1999 c.1061 §1; 2001 c.872 §1; 2003 c.769 §1; 2005 c.796 §1; 2007 c.779 §1; 2007 c.852 §1; 2009 c.763 §1; 2011 c.594 §1; 2013 c.639 §1; 2015 c.714 §1; 2017 c.621 §1; 2019 c.647 §1; 2022 c.31 §1; 2023 c.491 §1; 2025 c.474 §1; 2025 c.581 §6]