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The association’s farm business committee chair Lorcan McCabe said the Government must “protect vulnerable sectors”, especially in the face of Brexit.
Income volatility management
McCabe says dairy farmers’ incomes “fluctuate from year to year due to many circumstances” and has accused the Government of impeding “the ability of the sole trader to grow and develop their business” due to the agri-taxation system it operates.
The ICMSA wants the introduction of a farm management deposits model, which would act as a farm income volatility management tool.
In simple terms, the ICMSA wants a percentage of a farmer’s profit to be put into the farm management deposit for a maximum period of five years, which would be taxed at 12.5% in a once-off manner.
These funds could then be used during a downturn in the farmer’s business.
Income averaging
In relation to income average, the ICMSA proposes that individual farmers should be allowed to opt for three-year or five-year averaging in order to allow them to more effectively manage income volatility.
Land policy and taxation
In relation to the old reliables of land taxation, the ICMSA is calling for consanguinity relief to be extended, a reduction capital gains tax rate of 33% and an extension to the income tax relief for land leases.
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