The Tánaiste said today (Thursday, September 26) that the “issue” of the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) will be addressed before next week’s Budget 2025.
The Tánaiste told the Dáil: “All parties in the house are of a view that productive farmers, people who are actively working their land, should not be captured by the RZLT, that certainly is the position of the three party leaders.
“The mechanisms devised to enable farmers not to be covered, have not worked – that is the reality – have not worked.
“So therefore discussions are underway by the minister for finance, the three party leaders have been apprised of that proposal – the objective of which, is to exclude people who are active farmers, who did not either seek zoning or who have no intention of zoning and who want to continue on with the bona fide economic activity,” he added.
The Tánaiste said the view is to have that issue resolved before budget and to have the act “brought in.
RZLT
The amount of development land liable to the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is likely to exceed 6,200ha, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien has said.
Local authorities published annual draft RZLT maps on February 1, 2024, that identify lands that fall within the scope of the tax, as well as land which they propose to exclude from the previous year’s annual final maps for 2025.
Overall, circa 52,000ha of land is identified on the draft maps, while circa 49,300ha of land is proposed to be retained on the maps, Minister O’Brien said in response to a parliamentary question.
Separately in a new report published today the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) warned “against any delay” in the adoption of the proposed RZLT.
“This measure has been identified as one way of targeting land hoarding in the residential market.
“Reducing the cost of residential land is one practical way the government can improve the efficiency and productivity with which housing is supplied to the market,” the ESRI stated.