Massachusetts · statute · Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 61 · 9 active provisions
Section 1. For purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words shall have the following meanings:— ''Cut'', sever or taken from the soil. ''Forest land'', land devoted to the growth of forest products. Upon application, the state forester may allow accessory land devoted to other no…
Section 2. Except as otherwise herein provided, all forest land, parcels of not less than 10 contiguous acres in area, used for forest production shall be classified by the assessors as forest land upon written application sufficient for identification and certification by the state forester. Such application shall be…
Section 2A. In a city or town that accepts this section, the rate of tax applicable to certified forest land shall be the rate determined to be applicable to class two, open space.
Section 3. For general property tax purposes, the value of land that is actively devoted to forest production use during the tax year in issue and has not been used for purposes incompatible with forest production in the 2 immediately preceding tax years, shall, upon application of the owner of that land and approval o…
Section 4. All buildings located on land which is valued, assessed and taxed on the basis of its forest production use in accordance with this chapter and all land occupied by a dwelling or regularly used for family living shall be valued, assessed and taxed by the same standards, methods and procedures as other taxabl…
Section 5. Land qualifying for valuation, assessment and taxation under this chapter shall be subject to special assessments or betterment assessments to the pro rata extent that the service or facility financed by the assessment is used for improving the forest production use capability of the land or for the personal…
Section 6. Any land in forest production use which is valued, assessed and taxed under this chapter, if sold for other use within a period of 10 years after the date of its acquisition or after the earliest date of its uninterrupted use by the current owner in forest production, whichever is earlier, shall be subject t…
Section 7. Whenever land which is valued, assessed and taxed under this chapter no longer meets the definition of forest land, it shall be subject to additional taxes, in this section called roll-back taxes, in the tax year in which it is disqualified and in each of the 4 immediately preceding tax years in which the la…
Section 8. Land taxed under this chapter shall not be sold for, or converted to, residential, industrial or commercial use while so taxed or within 1 year after that time unless the city or town in which the land is located has been notified of the intent to sell for, or to convert to, that other use. The discontinuanc…