Donohoe dallies on stamp duty

Following the political disaster that was the surprise increase in stamp duty on farmland sales in the last budget, you might think the Government would have made a special effort to ensure the ensuing damage control operation ran smoothly.

Think again. Many farmers are still unable to access a key relief measure introduced to save them tens of thousands of euros on a typical sale.

To alleviate the shock of last October’s overnight trebling of the tax on land sales from 2% to 6%, the Government subsequently assured that a low rate of 1% would remain in specific circumstances.

Close relatives transferring land under consanguinity relief and those selling land in one place to buy closer to home under the farm consolidation exemption retain the 1% rate.

While the rules have been written – the two transactions must happen within two years, between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020, with active farming conditions – they don’t apply yet. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has yet to clear the scheme with Brussels for state aid rules and issue a commencement order. In his latest update to the Dáil a few days ago, he said “this may take a little time”.

In the meantime, he’s encouraging farmers to take a gamble and advance the extra €5,000 for every €100,000 spent, in the hope that everything will work out as planned.

One of them told The Dealer they’d rather wait – and with the 15 May Basic Payment Scheme deadline looming, this is a messy prospect.

To round things off, applicants must provide a certificate from Teagasc to show that they comply with consolidation rules.

I’m told this piece of paper costs no less than €300.