Julie Butler

Tax planning opportunities for farmers considering land development

JULIE BUTLER provides a practical guide to the tax implications of the new single payment scheme.

THE INTRODUCTION OF the Single Farm Payment is considered by many to be the most fundamental change to farming since the repeal of the 'corn laws'. It essentially means that farming subsidies are no longer 'coupled' to production, but are based on area and historical entitlement. The burning question has been: how will this impact upon the taxation of farmers and landowners?

JULIE BUTLER considers the tax treatment of wind farms.

Farming

Quota Tips And Traps

JULIE BUTLER FCA considers the quirks of quotas.

AFTER ONE OF the wettest Augusts on record, the plight of the arable farmer has been the subject of nationwide coverage. But what of the dairy farmer, who needs the summer rain to produce the lush grass for the dairy herd in order to produce a good volume of milk?

What Future Lies Ahead?

Will tax legislation direct the future of the farming (and the landscape) in the United Kingdom? JULIE BUTLER asks.

THE REVOLUTION HAS arrived. From 2005, farmers can receive their subsidies (the single farm payment), irrespective of production. Under the Mid-Term Review of the Common Agricultural Policy reform, subsidies are being progressively siphoned from production.

The tax benefits of stud farms and racing are explored by JULIE BUTLER FCA.

MANY ATTRACTIVE TAX reliefs are associated with both stud farms and racing. The five-year hobby farming rules are, for example, extended to eleven, but most importantly perhaps, racing is not a taxable activity. The downside is that losses from racing are not tax allowable, no doubt because the Revenue believes that generally the costs of racing far outweigh the profits and it cannot risk the tax repayments that would result.

JULIE BUTLER FCA discusses the merits of gravel extraction tax planning.

NOT EVERYONE MAY be aware of the taxation of mineral royalties which is still half income tax and half capital gains tax. Mineral royalties are not eligible for taper relief, which is significant from 6 April 2002 when full taper relief became available. The review of the taxation of mineral royalties has become even more relevant with the introduction of aggregates levy from 1 April 2002.

JULIE BUTLER FCA considers the tax consequences of casual letting arrangements.

IN AN EFFORT to overcome the decline in farming incomes, many landowners are engaging in casual letting or grazing agreements. Likewise, farming units are trying to take on more land under management in order to take advantage of the economies of scale.

Milk quota and a 'fungible' asset
It is understood that the Revenue takes the not unreasonable view that milk quota is a fungible asset. It is worth considering what benefit this could have to the farmer.