Focus of Agri-taxation Review Will Have to Be on Supporting Production and Sustaining Family Farming
IFA President Eddie Downey said today (Tues) from IFA’s perspective, the forthcoming agri-taxation review will have two objectives; holding what the farm reliefs are there at present, and pushing for new measures that address farm investment, land mobility, income volatility and succession.
Eddie Downey said, “The review should positively incentivise agricultural production at farm level and support the viability and sustainability of the family farm. If these same aims are not prioritised, Government targets under Food Harvest 2020 will not be met”.
The first meeting of the IFA Farm Taxation Project Team will take place this week and the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will attend the IFA Executive Council on Friday, February 21st. “This will be an opportunity for the Minister to hear from our members about the important role that existing measures play in the farming sector, and what is needed to underpin the expansion plans and deal with volatility.”
Eddie Downey said IFA has three priorities in the agri-taxation review:
- To ensure that valuable tax reliefs, which are critical to the development and growth of the agri sector, are maintained
- To secure new tax incentives that are necessary to drive structural improvements by incentivising land transfer, mobility and investment and
- To fully examine how the taxation system can better accommodate the extreme volatility in farm incomes.
IFA will be making a detailed submission as part of the agri-taxation review.
