Pine beetles have been the scourge of lodgepole pines in Colorado for more than twenty five years. In recent years, as the pine beetle epidemic has slowed due to dwindling habitat (they’re eating themselves out of house and home), the spruce beetle epidemic has escalated. According to the Colorado State Forest Service, roughly 3.4 million acres in Colorado have been affected by the mountain pine beetle epidemic to date, and roughly 1.4 million acres have been affected by the spruce beetle.
To help ease the economic impact of beetle devastation, state lawmakers created an exemption from Colorado state sales tax for products made from wood salvaged from trees infested by mountain pine beetles. It took effect on July 1, 2008, and on July 1, 2012, a similar exemption took effect for products made from wood salvaged from trees infested by spruce beetles. Both exemptions are set to expire on June 30, 2020.
The exemptions do not apply to local sales taxes unless a city or county enacts the exemption. Now Lake County, Colorado, has done just that. Effective March 1, 2015, Lake County exempts from the 4% local sales tax sales tax beetle wood products.
Additional information about the Colorado sales tax exemption on beetle wood products is available through the Colorado Department of Revenue.
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