With the consanguinity clause extended as predicted last week, the question now is whether any further concessions can be gained around stamp duty on agricultural land transfers.

TD Michael Fitzmaurice, who first framed amendments to Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe’s proposals on budget night, put forward further options last week.

The changes in consanguinity are more than just a sop to the farming organisations. They included a graded increase in the stamp duty rate on agricultural land as the value of the land transferred increased. That did not gain traction.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands this was because such a proposal would not be sector-specific – it would be hard to justify bringing such an amendment on agricultural land and not extending it to all commercial property.

There is a possibility a consolidation clause may be introduced. This would see farmers who were purchasing land to improve the structure of their farm gain a lower stamp duty rate or total exemption. Such a clause existed previously (when stamp duty was 9%) for land swaps and where land was being both sold and purchased by a farmer to improve farm structure.

Arbitrary

ICMSA president John Comer welcomed the removal of the under-67 age limit for consanguinity relief, saying he had “always felt that the specific age limit had been arbitrary and unfounded”.

But he was adamant the widening of availability for consanguinity relief in no way addressed the problems faced by farmers seeking to consolidate their holdings through purchase of lands.

“Farmer focus will still rest on the contrast between the treatment of developers purchasing tracts of land for residential development for vast sums who qualified for a refund in full of their 6% stamp duty and, for instance, dairy farmers borrowing over 20 years to purchase the additional 10 or 15 acres that might make all the difference towards achieving long-term viability but for whom no such refund is available.

“It’s certainly essential that any farmer in the process of finalising a land purchase in advance of the budget announcement is subject to the 2% stamp duty only.”