The Government must move now to make all genuinely farmed land exempt for the Residential Zoned Land Tax, according to IFA Farm Business Chair Rose Mary McDonagh.
The call comes following media reports over the weekend that there’s a realisation changes are needed to this tax.
“It is encouraging to see that the Government are at last realising the severe impact this penal tax will have on farm families across the country,” Rose Mary McDonagh said.
“Actively farming land isn’t in any way land hoarding, so some changes are needed. For farmers who wish to farm their land, it is totally unjust and unfair to think that a tax would be placed on them that would effectively force them to sell the land that may have been in their families for generations,” she said.
“We all agree that there is a housing crisis, but the Residential Zoned Land Taz (RZLT) in its current format will not solve this crisis by forcing genuine farmers to sell land,” she said.
Rose Mary McDonagh also noted that in many instances farmland has been brought into the scope of this tax in areas where there is no commercial demand or likely housing requirement for decades to come.
“A right to be dezoned, without justification or fear of subsequent compulsory purchase order, also needs to be provided for impacted farmers,” she added.
“We have been lobbying for an exemption since the RZLT was mooted in the Finance Act in 2021, and are ready to meet and work with Government to find a fair and equitable solution to this issue. A framework can be put in place that would identify what is genuinely farmed land if there is political will to protect farm families,” Rose Mary McDonagh said.
“In the meantime, I would encourage all farmers to check the supplementary RZLT maps for your local county council to see if you have land added and if so to make an appeal before the 1 June deadline,” she said.
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