how ontario’s managed forest tax incentive program (mftip) works, why it is useful, and its benefits to private landowners and the environment
abstract
the vast majority of ontario’s forest is owned by the province. however, most
of the deciduous and great lakes- st. lawrence forest is privately owned. government
has very little control over private land. to encourage good forestry practices on private
lands the managed forest tax incentive program was created. to be enrolled in the
program, landowners must have a minimum of four hectares of eligible forested land
and have a forest management plan approved by a registered approver. participants of
the program have eligible lands taxed at 25% of the municipal rate. the program
benefits the environment. studies have shown that the participants are more likely to
remove invasive species and plant native species than woodlot owners not enrolled.
landowners benefit by having reduced tax rates and increased knowledge of their
property. the major limitation is that most woodlots are owned by farmers as part of a
larger property. their farms are already taxed at the same rate and the mftip requires
additional work and limits what activities they can do on their land. reducing the
taxation rate below that of the farm tax may increase enrollment. the other issue is that
the program is poorly advertised, and many landowners are unaware.
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