Clarification from the Revenue commissioners on certain issues surrounding young farmer stamp duty relief has been welcomed by the outgoing national president of Macra na Feirme, James Healy.
He welcomed the clarification where young farmer stamp duty relief is applied to the transfer of property and land; only the lower rate of 1% stamp duty will count towards the €70,000 limit on young farmer taxation reliefs.
“This should finally bring clarity in the application of tax relief for farm transfers,” he said.
Without young farmer stamp duty relief, a rate of 6% stamp duty applies. There had been fears that the full 6% difference would count towards a young farmer’s €70,000 limit.
“The Revenue commissioners clarified that where consanguinity relief is applied, only the 1% rate will be placed against the young farmers €70,000 lifetime limit.”
Outgoing Macra na Feirme national president James Healy
The Macra president said: “Farm families finally have clarification on the tax implications for farm transfers which will remove the barrier that had halted the transfer of land in recent months.”
However, Healy noted: “State aid rules as they apply to young farmer measures need to be reassessed at EU level.”
Concluding, he warned: “Supporting young farmers under the CAP with one hand and restricting them through state aid rules on the other hand is not beneficial for generational renewal.”