This week sees the annual pilgrimage of racegoers head west to the Galway races. This is a super week of racing, entertainment and craic that attracts the great and the good from all spheres of Irish life.

The start of the week also sees the leading politicians in the country attend to ensure they are pictured in the next day’s papers shaking hands with punters and placing a bet.

Reading the IFA’s pre-budget submission this week got me thinking that maybe the farmers of the country should hire a tent for race week and invite the politicians in for a chat.

The most glaring and unequal part of the tax system, as highlighted in the IFA submission, is the level of income at which a self-employed person becomes taxable. A self-employed person becomes taxable at €8,250 compared to an employee who becomes taxable at €16,500.

Graph: The uneven playing field of PAYE vs. self-employed workers

This inequality arises from the fact that a self-employed individual, be they a farmer or otherwise, are not entitled to the PAYE tax credit. The IFA in its submission is calling for an Earned Income tax credit, similar to the PAYE tax credit, to be introduced.

This is a perfectly legitimate proposition and one which would take the low-earning self-employed and farmers out of the tax net in one simple measure. The advantages of this move would not only accrue to current tax payers in the form of €1,650 extra spending power, it would also help those starting a new business and trying to build this new business from a low income base.

How did this level of inequality arise in the first place? I believe it is because the farm organisations were late to the partnership table, or more precisely, were not invited until the party was over.

It’s now time for the self-employed, farmers, and rural Ireland in general to seek equality in the tax system and in other areas and services such as broadband, the planning system, roads, transport and many other areas. Maybe complacency in the past caused rural dwellers to miss out on the advantages of an economy that was thriving.

I can see the same happening with the beef forum at present. While beef prices are high, there appears little movement on issues that caused the factory blockades of 2014. Issues such as weight limits, age specifications and movements all appear unresolved.

Here’s hoping all those heading for Galway this week back a winner or two. There may even be a tent providing some form of beverage for the over-taxed self-employed farmers.

Listen to our podcast interviews with IFA chief economist Rowena Dwyer and with Tommy Moyles below