Policy impact for nonindustrial private forest landowners : the case of deregulating private forest accounts

Abstract: An ongoing investigation initiated by the government of Sweden is examining the tax structure for private entities and persons who are owners or partners in trading companies. It investigates whether current tax structure is too complex, and if there is a need to simplify the current tax structure. Nonindustrial private forest landowners own 52 % of the forestland areas in Sweden (Nilsson, 2015, p. 92), and they are often running their business as private entities. It becomes interesting to examine which sanctions the revised tax structure could have on private entities that have forests revenue as part of the total revenue. The study examines the financial effects that the revised tax system would have compared to the current tax system through a future simulation. The study finds that the proposed changes in the investigation will have a negative effect on the total profit for nonindustrial private forest landowners. They would contribute with further tax funds to the government through the proposed changes, but also that the revised tax system might have negative effects for the overall short-term supply on Swedish wood products.