asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline the position in relation to farmers' taxation of a husband and wife whose separate PLV's on land are under £40 but whose joint valuations exceed £40; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Farmers' Taxation.
274.
I would draw the Deputy's attention to the provisions of section 29 of the Finance Bill, 1980, which was passed by Dáil Éireann on 12 June 1980. Section 29 provides that where a wife owns farm land in her own right and either occupies it herself to the exclusion of her husband or lets it to a third party at a commercial rent, that farm land will not be deemed to be occupied by her husband. Accordingly, farm land so owned or occupied by the husband and the wife will be treated separately and not combined for the purposes of either income tax or resource tax. If the case mentioned by the Deputy falls into this category, liability either to income tax or to resource tax will not arise since the rateable valuation of the farm land owned or occupied by each spouse is less than £40.
If, however, the two parcels of land are owned or occupied jointly, each spouse would be regarded as occupying farm land exceeding the £40 threshold for income tax purposes. Income tax would then be charged in respect of the farming profits accruing to each spouse.
If the combined rateable valuations are £70 or more, a liability to resource tax on the combined figure will follow, subject to marginal relief if this is £79 or less.