Residential zoned land tax anomalies
Deputy Canney raised anomalies in the residential zoned land tax affecting R2 land and active farmers. The Minister said the Department of Finance was working through the issue and that the aim was to protect genuine farmers and ensure land can be dezoned where appropriate.
I wish to ask about the residential zoned land tax. On 9 May 2023, the Taoiseach told me that he had spoken to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, about anomalies that had arisen in the context of the Finance Act whereby people in R2 zoned land would be taxed even though the land could not be built on. It also emerged that functional farmers who wanted to continue to farm would be penalised as well. I have been contacted by a considerable number of farmers, especially around the Tuam and Athenry areas, where local area plans are being developed at the moment. They are concerned that they will be unable to meet the payment of these taxes from their farming income when they want to dezone their land to ensure that their farms remain functional farms. Have the anomalies to which I refer been sorted out? Will the Finance Act be amended and, if so, when? I am looking for some comfort for these farmers.
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising this pressing issue. It is an issue that the Department of Finance is currently working its way through. The objective of the Government is to ensure that those who are actively farming their land are not put in a situation whereby because the zoned land tax will apply to them, they cannot continue to farm or must sell the land. They need to be able to apply to have the land dezoned if they do not want it categorised in that way.
Overall, the Government's objective is to ensure that any land that is zoned is actively available in order that there is not lots of land zoned in principle but unavailable because those who own it do not wish it to become available. We want an accurate reflection of zoned land. This means that those people who are actively farming need the opportunity to dezone it. A number have already done that. Issues have arisen of which the Department of Finance is aware and which it is working its way through to ensure that principle can be applied and those people are not made liable.