Sinn Féin proposed wealth tax would penalise vulnerable farmers

Fine Gael TD for Limerick, Patrick O’Donovan has, today (Monday), highlighted how Sinn Féin’s proposed wealth tax would hit vulnerable farmers.

“Last year Sinn Féin decided to drop their ever popular wealth tax from their pre-budget submission as even they admitted that it could not be properly costed. Despite this, numerous Sinn Féin representatives have recently been pontificating again about the possible benefits of such a tax.

“Apart from the fact that a wealth tax would not generate the type of revenue necessary if Sinn Féin were to follow through on their other budgetary proposals, there are major questions around how unfarmed land would be taxed under this harsh regime.

“The Sinn Féin Wealth Tax Proposal 2013 stipulates that a 1% tax would be applied to net wealth over €1 million, excluding working farmland, business assets, 20% of the family home and pension pots. This tax, therefore, would presumably be applied to unfarmed land.

“Many farmers would be affected by this tax. For any number of reasons farmland can be unworked; farmers are elderly and unfit to farm or sometimes no suitable person can be found to lease the land. It is all well and good saying someone is sitting on a farm worth a large sum of money but anyone with any sense will know that an unworked farm is worth very little.

“It is highly likely that the authors of this creative document, along with the Sinn Féin representatives spouting its contents, have not even considered the significant number of famers who would potentially be affected by this, and who would be subject to large fines if they were found to be avoiding the tax.

“This is yet another example of poorly thought out policy, lacking depth and detail, from a populist party who are consistently showboating, with no real substance to back up what they are promising.

“This was further highlighted this morning by Gerry Adams who was unable to state whether Sinn Féin’s proposal for higher income tax, on which the Party bases much of its economic policy, is actually something it would implement in Government.”