Sequoia Purchased the Rights to Cut Timber on Several Tracts

question 129

Essay

Sequoia purchased the rights to cut timber on several tracts of land over a 15-year period. It paid $500,000 for cutting rights. A timber engineer estimates that 500,000 board feet of timber will be cut. During the current year, Sequoia cut 45,000 board feet of timber, which it sold for $900,000. What is Sequoia's cost depletion deduction for the current year?

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Definitions:

Consumer Surplus

The difference between the sum total consumers are ready and capable of contributing towards a good or service and what they genuinely contribute.

Price Floor

A government-imposed minimum price below which a specific good or service cannot legally be sold, aimed at protecting producers or encouraging certain activities.

Total Surplus

The complete net profit to society from the production and consumption of a good or service, reflected in the sum of consumer surplus and producer surplus.

Equilibrium Price

The price at which the quantity of a good or service demanded equals the quantity supplied, leading to market balance.