Tax relief for Mycoplasma bovis farmers

On 27 March 2020, the Government advised that it intends to introduce legislation to ensure that farmers whose herds were culled in response to the Mycoplasma eradication programme will not face an undue tax burden.

Farmers who have culled their breeding livestock (including growing replacements) because of Mycoplasma bovis will be allowed to spread the additional income derived as a result of the cull of that stock, over the following six years, provided those farmers have used, and continue to use, the national standard cost scheme or the self-assessed cost scheme for their breeding stock, and substantially replaced that culled livestock within 12 months.

The proposed changes will be included in a future tax bill and would apply from the 2018 income year as culls began in late 2017.

Affected farmers or their tax agents can find technical information on Inland Revenue’s website.