Study Guide

Objectives

The aim of the course is to introduce students to private forest ownership and key aspects of forest ownership, such as forest owner´s rights and obligations, real estate formation, forest taxation and generational change.

After completing the course, the student:
• knows the forest owner structure in Finland, forest owner's rights and obligations and different forms of forest ownership
• is familiar with the concepts of forming a real estate, the value of forest property and the key concepts and taxation of property transfer
• knows how to make a forest tax declaration and a VAT declaration of a forest owner liable for VAT
• knows how the profitability of forest management options can be compared with different calculations and knows how to apply these calculations.
• can simulate different forest management options
• knows the risks associated with management of forests and ways to control the risks

Content

Forest owner structure, forest owners' values ​​and goals, forest owner's rights and obligations, everyone's rights, forest real estate information, determining the value of real estate, forms of forest ownership, methods of changing ownership of real estate and tax consequences, forest taxation, profitability calculations of wood production, present value calculation and discounting, internal interest rate, use of the Motti forestry simulator, different options of forestry and the risks associated with them.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

The student knows that services related to forest property management are available. He / she can determine the fair value of forest properties using the sum value method, but the calculations contain inaccuracies and the result is not substantiated in any way. The student knows that different forms of forest ownership have an impact on forest property management, but is unable to utilize the information. He / she is familiar with different forest ownership changes and is able to calculate the main tax consequences related to the former, but there may be errors in the calculations and the results are not substantiated in any way. There are errors in the preparation of the forest tax and the seasonal tax return, things are not justified. The student is able to describe the forest owner structure in general and knows the rights and obligations related to forest ownership. He/she knows the research methods used in forest owner research. The student is unable to explain the background of the mo structure or rights and obligations.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

The student knows what kind of forest property management services are available and which organizations offer them. He can correctly determine the fair value of a forest property using the sum value method, but the result is not justified. The student knows that different forms of forest ownership and deforestation have an impact on forest property management, but the application of knowledge is rather limited or incomplete. Student
is familiar with the possibilities of transferring ownership of a forest property and is able to calculate the key tax consequences associated with different methods of generational exchange, but there is little opportunity to comment on the results. The student is able to prepare forest tax and season tax declaration correctly or almost correctly, but the reasons for the measures are missing. The student is able to explain the causes of forest ownership structure and the behavior of different forest ownership groups. He / she can prepare a useful questionnaire and explain the legal background of forest owner's rights and obligations and apply the information to general cases

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The student knows what forest asset management services are available, can search for them and knows which organizations offer them. He/ she is able to determine and justify the fair value of forest properties using the sum value method. The student knows the impact of different forms of forest ownership and deforestation on forest property management and is able to draw conclusions from this in situations related to forest property management. The student knows the possibilities of transferring a forest property and is able to calculate and analyze the key tax consequences related to different generational exchange methods. He / she is able to prepare forest tax and season tax returns and justify the things recorded in them. In addition to the above, the student can evaluate the future of the forest owner structure and attitudes of forest owners. The student is able to evaluate the reliability of forest owner surveys and has a deep understanding of the background of forest owner's rights and obligations and is able to apply knowledge of rights and obligations in difficult situations