Another tax season has come to an end and none too soon for our favorite tax authority. This is the fourth installment in the Pay the Man series posted at the end of Tax Season each year. The puzzle is tax themed (as always) and you have to work with figures just like working with the tax forms. It is not as difficult as filing a Form 990, but should engage a few brain cells.
Cachers spend a fair amount of time in the woods. I particularly like a sunny day (weather in the 60’s) of caching which involves a large park, miles of trails and a long list of caches. While Pokedad likes the number of caches logged on these days he may not be as fond of the miles logged – but hey, I could make him run the trails instead. :)
So with all this time in the woods it just logically connected to the annual Pay the Man cache. Why my mind goes there I really can’t say. I guess now that while placing my third Pay the Man Cache I was looking for the next idea. I figured there just had to be extra fun (meaning dull, boring and extremely complicated) rules and forms for all of these trees. And so I looked:
Form T (Timber), Forest Activities Schedule. I have to admit that I was hoping for something more interesting. But given that it is a government form am I surprised? No. I give the government zero points for creativity when it comes to naming their forms. But one thing you can say about tax forms is that they sometimes make a wee bit of sense.
So I am sure you are wondering how to define timber right? No? Well I will tell you anyways. “Timber” has eight parts - it includes the parts of standing trees that could be used to manufacture lumber, pulpwood, veneer, poles, piling, crossties, chip-n-saw, and other wood products. Another classification are evergreen (conifer) trees aged 6 years or older when severed from their roots and sold for ornamental purposes; e.g., Christmas trees.
Basically you complete Form T if you acquired timber, timber-cutting contracts, or forest land during the tax year, whether the acquisition was by purchase, exchange, gift, or inheritance. That is Part I.
It’s a lot to ponder as you walk amongst the trees looking for your next cache. I mean all these definitions for a seemingly simple word. The government always gets points for confusing rules and regulations. This is why we need those wonderful tax guys like our beloved Pokedad. I think five out of six people are sure to get their heads in a swirl reading these definitions. But not our tax guy Pokedad – it all makes perfect sense to him. (This is why I married him – nine times out of ten I would get it wrong) My suggestion would be to make more of the form like Line 18 - Yes or No options. Zero confusion on a check box most of the time. But why not make it simpler yet? Zero tax forms sound good to anyone?
But I digress from the Timber form.
There are ways to take deductions in the Timber world. If a swarm of beetles comes and eats all your trees you can claim a deduction right? No. Per the rules a Casualty Loss is physical in nature and caused by natural or other external factors acting in a “sudden, unexpected, and unusual manner”. Insects along with two other items, disease and drought are excluded. While these items fit the “natural” definition in my mind they are not “sudden” enough to fit the rule. So hope your timber does not make a good lunch. That falls into Part II.
Taxes are all about Profit and Loss and the Form T follows that rule. Why else have a form if it isn’t calculating a tax? Line 8 in Part III is where you record the result. Some of this section is pretty straight forward – where is the property, who purchased the timber, how much did you receive. A few lines of details on type of sale and a few expenses and you have made it through another section.
Part IV is all about Reforestation and Timber Stand activities. I am happy to see credit given for growing more trees to replace what has been cut. But Timber stand is another of those crazy terms – “Timber stand activities include all silvicultural prescriptions (such as burning, spraying, and thinning) applied to a timber stand regardless of age.” Even spell check didn’t know what “silvicultural”was . According to Wikipedia: Silviculture is the practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values. The name comes from the Latin silvi- (forest) + culture (as in growing). The study of forests and woods is termed silvology. So now you have learned something from reading all of this :)
While reading through the descriptions on Form T I did wonder why they used certain terms. A favorite appears on Line 7 – “Cruising”. The full line is “Cruising, surveying, and other acquisition expenses”. Still it makes me chuckle even though for once I understand the application. “Stumpage” and “Timber theft” are two more of my favorites. It just makes me smile as do ‘unit rate returnable’ and ‘log scaling’. How do you return a cut tree anyhow? I never realized how many different ways you could sell a tree – stumpage, right to cut, lump sum, pay as cut, or treating the cutting as a sale (which I still haven’t figured out????).
Part V of the form is an accounting of your assets. Simply tell the government what you own at year end. This may be the most common sense piece of the whole puzzle.
ALL DONE.
Now didn’t that have you on pins and needles till the very end? No? Well I admit even for some bean counters (like me) this stuff is not choice reading. I only pull this stuff together for Pokedad’s puzzles.
Tax codes and regulations make you scratch your head and use more than a few brain cells. This puzzle has its own “code” to get the final coordinates. If you paid very close attention as you read along you will quickly fill in the missing figures.
SOLVE FOR
N 42.xx.xxx W 08x.xx.xxx
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.