Minister McConalogue said the move came following consultation with stakeholders, and to ensure that relief benefits real farmers rather than speculators. Photo: PA
Move to change the those who qualify for Agricultural Relief in the Budget will help prevent “high rollers” using the measure as a tax planning strategy.
“We don’t want high rollers coming in and buying up land at the cost of local farmers and young farmers who want to grow the farming enterprise,” the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has said.
He was after the Minister for Finance Jack Chambers announced he is extending the six-year active farmer test to the person who provides the gift or inheritance, as part of yesterday’s Budget.
Minister McConalogue said the move came following consultation with stakeholders, and to ensure that relief benefits real farmers rather than speculators.
The move, he said, would help support young farmers and family farms as it will mean the farm has to be actively farmed for 12 years to qualify for Agricultural Relief.
The 12-year restriction, he said, is a “big and significant” intervention of the Government and the timeframe will be looked at again if necessary.
It comes amid growing discontent in many areas that farmers are being priced out of land by those with substantial financial interests outside the sector.
The Finance Minister said Agricultural Relief promotes the transfer of farms from one generation to the next and is an important measure to allow our young people to pursue their lives on the family farm.
In recent years, agricultural land has increased in value above inflation and it is difficult for genuine farmers to purchase the land they need for farming, he said.
IFA President Francie Gorman said the change to Agricultural relief on farm transfers were important and went a long way towards the proposals made by IFA in our budget submission.
“The increase in the threshold for inheritance will also be helpful for farm families who are in the process of organising the orderly transfer of their farms,” he said.
ICMSA President Denis Drennan said the move to improve the position of farmers in the land market was welcome in light of the issue that has high net worth non-farmers using farm relief measures to avoid various inheritance tax measures.
But the ICMSA President said that the Association will await the publication of the Finance Bill before passing judgement on the measures announced: “We are not completely convinced that the measures announced by Minister Chambers actually get to the heart of what’s been going on and how to deal with it and have concerns there could be unintended consequences.”
