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As we report this week, the recent communication from the Revenue Commissioners to a number of Kerry Co-op suppliers has caused serious anxiety across the farming community.
While accepting that procedures have to be observed, the same approach should not be used to deal with a small farming business operating on a low income as that used on large businesses, many of which have the internal expertise to deal with such complex financial issues.
Lack of prior consultation between Revenue and industry stakeholders has left these farmers in limbo as they await professional tax advice.
Meanwhile, Kerry Group clearly has a responsibility to defend these milk suppliers. Along with the farm organisations and ICOS, they need to ratchet up political pressure on Government to deliver an outcome that protects individual farmers.
Kerry Group had a responsibility to liaise with Revenue to ensure that any patronage scheme for milk suppliers in the co-op was designed in a tax-efficient and compliant manner.
We sought answers from Minister for Finance Michael Noonan on this issue but, as we went to press, his office had yet to respond.
Listen to Kerry farmers' reactions in our podcast below:
Listen to "Farmers in shock at back tax demands on Kerry co-op shares" on Spreaker.
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