The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association have once again detailed the need for full tax exemptions in this year’s Budget for all payments farmers receive under the various environmental schemes.
In pressing the case for these exemptions, National President Vincent Roddy called “for all payments made to farmers under schemes such as ACRES and the new Eco-scheme to be disregarded for tax purposes.”
This proposal was, he added, “one of the major calls made by the organisation in their Budget submission, which was first outlined last July.”Over the last number of months, we have stated Roddy “seen significant problems around the ACRES Programme that has angered and frustrated farmers in equal measure.”
With confidence in the scheme at an all-time low the Government has, he added “an ideal opportunity in this Budget to reinstate a level of confidence and positivity around the ACRES Programme by providing a tax exemption for all ACRES payments.”
The basis he continued “for such an exemption is in recognition of the climate and biodiversity emergency declared by Dail Eireann in May 2019.” In declaring this emergency, it has he added “given Government additional powers to address this emergency in a similar manner to the housing crisis where a tax free allowance on rental income of up to €14,000/year is currently available”
Beyond emergency measures, an exemption on ACRES and Eco-scheme payments would he maintained “also mirror the tax free exemptions that are available for forestry premium while also recognising the additional costs incurred by farmers through the ACRES Programme that also includes reduced output and income.”
In concluding the INHFA Leader stressed “the enormous benefit such an exemption would have in improving farmer goodwill around ACRES and wider environmental ambition.”