As the Guardian notes, the role of the Big Socoety in the sell of the Forestry Commission is a sham:
The vast majority of England's public woodland will be offered for sale to commercial businesses, the Guardian has learned from documents suggesting that only 1% will be acquired by communities and 2% by charities.
As I've previously noted, this is about commercial exploitation.
And maybe - given how important the issue is to a Cabinet of millionaires - about inheritance tax abuse.
Objectively, it is hard to see this as anything but the deliberate enclosure of forests for private benefit for the wealthy at cost to all the rest of us.
It's a perfect metaphor for the philosophy of this government in that sense.
No wonder this campaign is going to be very hard fought.
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The ConDems have foolishly picked the wrong battle and the wrong opponents. Any Gloucester man will tell you that if you leave Foresters (those who live in the Forest of Dean) alone they are placid, but you do not rouse their ire unless you are asking for trouble.
Law is on their side – ancient legal privilege that goes back to Norman times grants any man over 21 born in the Hundred of St Briavels the right to mine anywhere in the forest if he has worked a year and a day in a mine. That privilege was confirmed before Parliament in 1838, and is still exercised. No private landowner is going to take that away without one hell of a fight. The NHS tried to close down the local maternity unit in the Forest some years ago, and had to retreat with a (metaphorical) bloody nose.
This is a follow up letter I wrote to our Conservative MP
Dear Simon Kirby,
Thank you for your reply. By coincidence, I have just received an offer for a semi-spam “Exclusive timber investment opportunity offering a minimum fixed 10% annual return”. This prompted me to look up the tax breaks available for privately-owned forestry. Some snippets from a web search:
“Difficult to believe, but income generated from the ownership of commercial woodlands is completely exempt from both income tax and corporation tax. ”
“There is good news too for woodland investors on the capital gains tax front. Gains in the value of timber are completely exempt from CGT.”
“100% relief from IHT on the value of the forest provided you have owned it for two years before death.”
As far as I can see, in return for a one-off trivial fix to the deficit, we will be forgoing all future tax revenue from the woodland that is sold.
Even more interesting
“With all these tax benefits available to forestry investors, there are bound to some drawbacks. Fortunately these generally are of very minor consequence. The main ones are that woodland development costs and interest payments on loans taken out to purchase the woodlands, are not deductible for income tax purposes. When income from your woodlands exceeds these outgoings, there is no problem because the income is tax free. Care therefore should be taken to minimise outgoings until income is expected.”
Hardly an incentive for private owners to maintain or improve the public amenity value of woodlands.
I can’t see that this represents prudent management of our assets.
Michael Green
His reply
Dear Mr Green
Thank you for your further e-mail regarding woodlands and forests.
I have forwarded your concerns to the government and asked for them to be considered.
Kind regards.
Yours sincerely,
Simon kirby MP
(the website I found
http://www.whereonearthgroup.com/inheritance-tax-free-forestry.php)