Finance Act 2005

Amendment of Chapter 1 (interpretation and general) of Part 23 (farming and market gardening) of Principal Act.

29.—Chapter 1 of Part 23 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 657:

“Taxation of certain farm payments.

657A.—(1) In this section—

‘relevant individual’ means an individual who is in receipt of—

(a) a relevant payment or relevant payments, and

(b) a payment under the EU Single Payment Scheme operated by the Department of Agriculture and Food under Council Regulation No. 1782/2003 of 29 September 20031 ,

in respect of both of which the individual would be, apart from this section, chargeable to income tax on the profits or gains from farming for the year of assessment 2005, but does not include an individual who in the year of assessment 2005 is chargeable to income tax in respect of profits or gains from farming in accordance with subsection (5) of section 657;

‘relevant payment’ means a payment made at any time in the calendar year 2005 to an individual under any of the EU schemes specified in the Table to this section.

(2) A relevant individual may elect to have the aggregate of all relevant payments made to the individual treated in accordance with subsections (3) to (6), and each such election shall be made in such form and contain such information as the Revenue Commissioners may require.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Income Tax Acts apart from subsection (4), where an individual elects in accordance with subsection (2), the relevant payment or relevant payments shall be disregarded as respects the year of assessment 2005 and shall instead be treated for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts as arising in equal instalments in the year of assessment 2005 and in the 2 immediately succeeding years of assessment.

(4) Where a trade of farming is permanently discontinued, tax shall be charged under Case IV of Schedule D for the year of assessment in which such discontinuation takes place in respect of the amount of any relevant payment which would, but for such discontinuance, be treated by virtue of subsection (3) as arising in a year of assessment or years of assessment ending after such discontinuance.

(5) An election under subsection (2) by a person to whom this section applies, shall be made by notice in writing on or before 31 October 2006 and shall be included in the annual statement required to be delivered on or before that date under the Income Tax Acts of the profits or gains from farming for the year of assessment 2005.

(6) Subject to subsection (4) an election made under subsection (2) cannot be altered or varied during the period to which it refers.

TABLE

1. Special Beef Premium Schemes.

2. Suckler Cow Premium Scheme.

3. Ewe Premium Schemes.

4. Extensification Payments Scheme.

5. Slaughter Premium Scheme.

6. Arable Aid Schemes.

7. National Envelope Top-Ups.”.

1OJ No. L270 of 21.10.2003, p. 1