Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) applaud the federal government announcement that eligible producers who sold cattle because of forage shortfalls due to flooding and excess moisture, will be allowed to defer tax on cattle sales for 2014.
“Since it became clear that flooding and excess moisture conditions would lead to forage shortfalls for a number of producers, MBP has been lobbying the government to invoke the tax deferral provision,” said MBP President Heinz Reimer. “The shortfall forced producers to make some tough decisions that will have a lasting impact down the road. This announcement not only lessens the impact of those decisions but will also enable some producers to begin rebuilding their herd.”
In making the announcement, the government said that producers in designated regions of the province can defer income tax on the sale of their breeding livestock for one year in order to help replenish that stock in the following year. The release also noted that proceeds from deferred sales are then included as part of the producer’s income in the next tax year, when those proceeds may be at least partially offset by the cost of replacing their breeding animals.
In order to defer income, producers must have reduced their breeding herd by at least 15 per cent. If that was the case, 30 per cent of income from the net sales can be deferred. In cases when producers reduced their herd by more than 30 per cent, 90 per cent of income from net sales can be deferred. Producers eligible for the deferral are advised to make the request when filing their 2014 income tax returns.
“Livestock producers in the West have been challenged with extreme weather conditions this year,” Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in the release. “The tax relief offered by this program will provide producers with an additional tool to managing their forage shortfalls, allowing them to redirect money towards restocking next year’s breeding herd.”
