The rate of stamp duty on farmland bought by active farmers must revert to 2%, the IFA’s executive council has insisted.

The controversial move by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to triple the stamp duty rate to 6% in Tuesday’s budget was the issue that dominated the post-budget meeting of farmers in Dublin today.

Speaking afterwards, IFA president said: “The Finance Bill, which will be published next Thursday, must provide for land that is purchased or transferred and used for farming, to remain at the 2% stamp duty rate.

“The qualifying criteria for this would be the same as Revenue currently applies to define an active farmer for other agricultural reliefs.”

Healy said the IFA proposal would limit the 2% rate to transactions where the land is going to be farmed by active farmers.

Reeling

As revealed by the Irish Farmers Journal, the stamp duty increase imposed at midnight on Tuesday has left farmers in the midst of land transactions reeling.

One Tipperary farmer saw his stamp duty bill triple from €25,000 to €75,000 overnight.

Rowing back

On Thursday morning, we revealed that the Department of Finance is considering rowing back on some of the stamp duty changes relating to sales already in progress and the age category of farmers.

However, the IFA wants a blanket 2% to apply to all farmland bought by active farmers, with the existing reliefs for young trained farmers and consanguinity (blood relations) to continue.

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