Application de la TVA en agriculture et comportement de quelques exploitants agricoles

The application of VAT to Agriculture and the behaviour of soms farmers - The extension of VAT to agriculture in 1968 gives farmers the possibility of choosing between two new methods of taxing their turn-over ; either being repaid a forfeitary sum or VAT. Until Jan. 1 1972 those who did not opt for one of these two forms of taxation continued to benefit from the reduction on agricultural machinery. These forms of taxation are simplified in comparison with the form generally applied; nevertheless, agricultural VAT is a fairly complicated system when it comes to the rules covering the deductions and obligations of those whose activity concerns livestock. A survey carried out in August 1971 amongst a hundred or so farmers in the Loire Valley area was intended to analyses the attitudes towards VAT of farmers who have chosen VAT, of those being repaid a forfeitary sum and those who still opt for the discount system. In order to obtain a homogeneous cross-section only few technico-economic categories were retained : fruit-growers with between 5 and 10 hectares, market- gardeners with less than 5 hectares, those going in for mixed farming and stokraising with between 20 and 50 hectares, and 50 and 100 hectares, cereal-growers with between 20 and 50 hectares, and 50 and 100 hectares. The factor analysis of the data collected enabled certain attitudes corresponding to the various tax systems to be pinpointed. The farmer's training and education, his sources of information, his belonging to agricultural organisations, his marketing system appeared to be the deciding factors. In some cases it was possible to pick out a group of elements common to the farmers in one technico economic category. In example, the marketing system for the market-gardeners and the fruit-growers, or the tendency to invest for those engaged in mixed-farming and stock-breeding. The application of VAT to agriculture was often seen as an initiative on the part of the tax authorities to gain firmer control of production and incomes. Only a small minority seems to be aware of the decrease in taxation for which it was created. If a change of attitude is indispensable, it does not seem that VAT is either a determining nor important factor of this change.