CAMPBELL’S BAY – The Agence des forets privées de l’Outaouais (AFPO) hosted a tax
training session for Pontiac’s woodlot owners, April 1, at the Lions Hall in Campbell’s Bay. Victor Brunette, AFPO Director General, and Peter B. Smith, a Certified Public Accountant, described tax deductions available to
private woodlot owners.
CAMPBELL’S BAY – The Agence des forets privées de l’Outaouais (AFPO) hosted a tax
training session for Pontiac’s woodlot owners, April 1, at the Lions Hall in Campbell’s Bay. Victor Brunette, AFPO Director General, and Peter B. Smith, a Certified Public Accountant, described tax deductions available to
private woodlot owners.
Brunette described the Tax Reimbursement Program, which offers a refundable tax credit
to those who use their woodlot commercially. “The program applies to woodlot owners who have a management plan,
and woodlot owner
status….those that are serious enough to pay for a management plan, which is about $1,000, and commit to good forestry practices (planting, thinning, harvesting, etc.),” explained Brunette. To be recognized as a commercial woodlot, time, money and work must be invested with the reasonable expectation of generating a profit.
Brunette used an example to explain the program: “I can get an income reimbursement credit for work that I have done in silvi-culture and good forestry practices, but it cannot be more than 85% of my tax burden (municipal and school taxes paid). For example, if I pay $1,000 in taxes and do $1,000 worth of road work, I have spent $2,000. How much am I entitled to get? $850.”
According to Brunette, many eligible woodlot owners haven’t used the tax credit because low land and school taxes for
woodlots didn’t make the credit worthwhile. “The average tax burden of a woodlot owner until 2010 was about $250 a year. The credit becomes recognized as revenue in the year it was received, so if you have a day job, you will be giving 30-40% back to the government in income taxes,” he explained.
However, recent in-creases in property taxes for woodlot owners have made the credit more attractive. “Woodlots that were evaluated at $35,000 ten years ago are now
evaluated at $85,000; they have more than doubled in a period of five years. Because of the increased tax burden, it has become worthwhile to claim the credit,” said Brunette.
More information can be obtained by contacting Mr. Brunette at 819-
827-0338.
