Remember SC Forests this Tax Season

As the tax deadline draws near, the South Carolina Forestry Commission is urging tax filers to remember forests when submitting their state returns. This tax season marks the third year taxpayers anticipating a refund will have an option to contribute all or part of it to sustaining state-owned forestlands.  The General Assembly passed an income tax check off creating the SC State Forests Fund during the 2010 Legislative Session. “We’ve been able to launch a number of improvement projects at our state forests thanks to the generosity of South Carolina tax filers,” says Scott Hawkins of the Commission’s public information office. Because South Carolina’s state forest system relies on timber sales and recreational permit revenue for operating funds, this income tax check off revenue allows the SC Forestry Commission to make improvements that would otherwise not be possible. Line 28 of State Tax Form 1040 allows the tax filer to contribute some or all of a refund toward any organization or agency listed on Form I-330. For every $1 invested by SC in the Commission, forest industry produces about $1,200 of economic impact. Additionally, the Forestry Commission has tax tips for forest landowners at its website: www.trees.sc.gov.