The traditional jointly owned forest is an easy way to own forest and get a regular income from it. When an owner decides to merge his or her holdings with a jointly owned forest, there is no need to think about when to thin and how much.
Forest professionals will take care of silviculture operations according to the directions of the managing committee. The committee also distributes the profits to the shareholders.
“A jointly owned forest needs active shareholders, too, but at a minimum, all you need to do is give your bank account number to the managing committee,” says Mr. Antti Pajula, specialist in forest holding structures at the Finnish Forestry Centre.
The number of jointly owned forests has increased considerably since the legislation and land surveying practices related to them were revised in 2003. Thanks to this, establishing a jointly owned forest has become easier than before.
Jointly owned forests also enjoy tax benefits that privately owned forests do not have access to. If the turnover of a jointly owned forest is less than Euro 200,000 a year, its accounts do not have to be audited; normal accounting and submitting a tax declaration are enough.
The tax percentage of a private forest owner is 30%. If a private individual’s timber sales revenue and other investment revenue combined exceed Euro 40,000, the percentage rises to 32.
Pajula says the number of jointly owned forests started to increase as the forest owners’ forest management associations, the Forestry Centre and forest companies gave their support to this form of ownership. It was seen as a good way to prevent the fragmentation of forest holdings.
Pajula says the reasons for establishing a joint forest have since become more varied. ”For example, family members may form a joint forest to avoid splitting up the forest holding. Instead of income from timber sales, the goal can also be to conserve the forest,” he says.
Jointly owned forests have traditionally been a forest ownership form for private individuals. In recent times, companies and investor groups have also established them.
