The Deputy will be aware that taxation policy is primarily the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Finance and that the Office of the Revenue Commissioners has responsibility for the operation of the taxation system.
However, my Department does engage on taxation issues relating to the agri-food sector with a view to supporting Government policy in this regard.
In this context, there is a system for income averaging for farmers and further information can be found at www.revenue.ie. This is an important agri-taxation measure and it assists in addressing income volatility in allowing farmers to pay tax based on the average of five years’ farming profits and losses.