Horse-breeding tax to swell Govt coffers
A new tax on breeding stallions could provide a multi-million-euro bonanza for the Government’s coffers, it was claimed today.
Under the Finance Bill, stud owners will have to pay 12.5% tax on their profits from mid-2008.
The late Charles Haughey introduced the controversial tax break when he was minister for finance in the 1960s.
According to the Department of Finance, stud farms in Ireland earned about €28m in stallion fees in 2004.
However, department officials were unable to say how much the Exchequer would gain from the new 12.5% tax.
Official Donal McNally said: “It depends on what profits are so it is difficult to judge.”
Minister for Finance Brian Cowen said that 90% of all stallions are commercial failures. “This is a risky business,” he added.
Ireland is the third-largest producer of stallions in the world and the industry directly employs about 2,400 people.
The stud business is a major economic driver in rural areas, the minister noted.
Mr Cowen added: “It would not in any way undermine the industry.”
The Government was forced to drop the tax break when the EU ruled that the exemption was an illegal state aid.
The exemption applies to all breeds of horse and to greyhounds.
The Finance Bill, which will become law in late March, also includes measures to update the Business Expansion Scheme and boost tax breaks for filmmakers to attract more big movie projects.
