Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak about the Finance Bill. Looking back over recent years, one of the primary objectives of the jobs initiative was to introduce the 9% VAT rate, which has been a huge success. This success has been built on by the Action Plan for Jobs. Since the outset I was of the opinion that once we got the chance to reduce the universal social charge, we should do so, in particular for the lower paid first and then to work up along the income levels. It was an emergency tax that crippled many people. There have been discussions about those on higher salaries and the tax contributions they make. Many people had an awful lot of commitments before the financial meltdown because they felt the economy would continue to be strong. They have been through horrific times. It is good to see that the universal social charge will be phased out. It has been promised that it will be phased out and this gives a clear indication that the emergency is passing.

I have worked quite a lot in our campaign to support small businesses. I have been in business for 20 years and was delighted to see an earned income tax credit for the self-employed, which will help to level the playing pitch. I hope this new tax credit will yet equalise the tax treatment of PAYE workers and the self-employed and is to be welcomed. It should have been done a long time ago, but now we at least have made a start in that direction. I am also glad to see that the home carer's tax credit is increasing from €810 to €1,000.

I have said this before, but it is important that we look again at the tax relief on qualifying farming leases. One condition of the relief is that leases will only qualify for the relief when the parties to the lease are not related. This is a mistake because most farms are transferred between fathers or mothers and sons or daughters. Most transfers are within families. We need to encourage the transfer of land because the age structure in the farming industry is still far too high, but we are not unique in this regard. It applies across the world, but we now have an opportunity to address it. The conditions could be applied stringently and the scheme could ensure transfers were made done at arm's length and on a commercial basis. A trial period for two years could be considered to see how it would work. If it did not work, we could address the issue again. In effect, it would be a de factoretirement scheme.

With tax credits for farm transfers, we would be proactive in ensuring farming became a younger person's game. These are turbulent times in farming, but there is a feel good factor. Milk quotas are gone and we are in expansion mode, but we are also cognisant of the troubles. The capital gains tax exemption of €3 million needs to be examined closely and increased. Huge investment is taking place and the threshold will be reached very quickly. We do not want any impediment to the transfer of farms which creates huge levels of employment.

It did not happen this time and perhaps it might be looked at again, but I would like to see tax relief for people who want to invest in the sugar industry. It would cost approximately €120 million, but the return to the Exchequer would be far greater. It would also show that we were correcting one of the worst wrongs ever done in this country when the industry was removed.

I thank the Minister for Finance for reducing the tax on lorries to €900. This is a fantastic initiative that will benefit the whole industry. The country is involved in moving lots of goods. This is an exports-based economy and this one move will create a huge spin-off. Some people may not understand how important this reduction is. Bringing the tax from €5,000 to €900 makes transport more economical. It will also address the issue of tractors carrying heavy loads. Now it will be easier to do so by lorry.

It has been a good budget for SMEs. It encourages people to get involved in business. We have more to do, but we are making steps in the right direction.

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