Off-farm income limit for cattle headage grants
Asked to use net rather than gross off-farm income for small farmers, the Minister said he could not change the scheme’s £4,175 limit and warned that a net-income test could create unfair anomalies. Mr. Begley challenged the limit as a Government figure.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware that some small farmers are not being paid cattle headage grants because their gross income from off-farm occupations is slightly over the prescribed limit; and if he will have the net income accepted in such cases.
Comment on this
At this stage it would be improper for me to alter the conditions in the 1980 EEC cattle headage payments scheme which restricts participation in the scheme to herdowners whose off-farm income did not exceed £4,175 in the tax year ended 5 April 1980. I am, however, doubtful whether any modification of the off-farm income condition can be made without creating anomalies. For example, if the off-farm income, net of tax, were to be taken it would tend to discriminate in favour of those farmers who have no dependants and are liable to tax and to penalise farmers with many dependants but no liability to tax.
