Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 36: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will set up a system whereby farmers could establish a separate bank account for their profits and could pay tax on these profits as they are drawn down in order to provide more financial stability for farmers, as is the system in Australia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7076/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Questions relating to taxation are a matter for the Minister for Finance. However tax legislation currently provides a scheme of taxation, known as income averaging, for certain farmers. Under this scheme, eligible farmers can elect to be charged income tax on the average of their farming profits over a three year period, rather than on the basis of their assessed profits over each separate12-month period.

The scheme allows participating farmers who experience fluctuations in their trading profits to average those profits over three years, thus reducing the effects of those fluctuations on their taxation position.

The Common Agricultural Policy also provides a degree of income stability to Irish farmers, through the system of direct payments, that would not be available in Australia.