IFA president Joe Healy led a delegation to meet Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe last week to present IFA’s pre-budget submission and impress upon the minister that the upcoming budget must address the effect of Brexit on farming.

The IFA president highlighted the urgent need for the Government to seek EU support for farm level measures that will counteract the price drops arising directly from sterling depreciation.

Budget 2018 is an opportunity for the Government to provide direct and positive support to farming enterprises. Specifically, the Government must provide funding support to the primary agriculture sector through:

  • The delivery of low-cost loans, available to all sectors of farming, including the mushroom sector, which is severely exposed to the sterling devaluation.
  • Increased funding of €25m for ANCs, BDGP and the Sheep Welfare Scheme.
  • Increased funding for TAMS and the scheme of investment aid for commercial horticulture.

    • IFA farm business chair Martin Stapleton, who also attended the meeting, said: “Taxation measures to address income volatility, discrimination between self-employed and employees, inter-generational transfer and farm restructuring are required, in addition to support to develop renewable energy projects using farmland.”

    Priorities

    The key priorities identified for farm taxation in the budget are:

  • Income volatility: extension of income averaging where the farmer/spouse has additional self-employed income, greater flexibility on ‘‘step-out’’, and provision of a deposit scheme.
  • An increase in the earned income tax credit to bring it to the same level as the PAYE credit.
  • Retention of 1% stamp duty for transfers between family members (consanguinity relief) and extension of relief to transfers within registered farm partnership structures.
  • Farmland under solar panel infrastructure to be classified as a qualifying asset for the purpose of assessment for relief from capital acquisitions tax.
  • Reduction in the VAT rate on animal vaccines as a means to improve herd health.