Readers’ forum: Tax treatment of income from willow timber and solar panels

I act for a client who runs a small consultancy company. His grandmother died last year and left a farmhouse and some land equally to my client and his eight cousins. The farmhouse and most of the land was subsequently sold and each cousin received about £200 000. Approximately 50 acres of land remain and at present the land is sparsely populated with willow trees planted by the late grandmother. The cousins intend to plant some 30 000 new willow trees and have negotiated a contract to sell the grown timber for cricket bat willow. This will generate around £100 000 every five years.

Additionally a solar company wishes to use part of the land for solar panels.

The client has suggested possibly transferring the land to a limited company owned equally by the nine cousins or alternatively to form a partnership. Apart from initially planting...