Farmers pay 'average of €1,000 in tax yearly'

AGRICULTURE Minister Joe Walsh last night flatly rejected claims that farmers are being driven out of business by Government neglect.

Speaking on the eve of a week of protests organised by the Irish Farmers Association, Mr Walsh again challenged claims about low farm incomes and warned that protests disrupting back-to-work traffic were a poor return for the solidarity workers showed during the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Mr Walsh also said 70% of farm incomes came from direct payments funded by Irish and EU taxpayers, while the statistics showed farmers paid 1.1% of the total income tax take. This meant an average yearly farmer tax payment of just over €1,000 against €7,000 for the average PAYE worker and €8,000 for other self-employed.