Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 9 November 2017

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed)

10:00 am

Photo of Michael FitzmauriceMichael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 64:

In page 53, to delete line 10 and substitute the following:

“(i) in paragraph (4), by substituting “2 per cent of stamp duty for the first €300,000, 4 per cent from €300,000 to €500,000, and 6 per cent from €500,000 thereafter on non-residential holdings” for “6 per cent”, and”.

The rate of stamp duty was increased to 6% in the budget. It had been 2%. This caught many people in the farming community and to be fair, the Finance Bill has rectified the situation where a father or mother hands down the land to a son or daughter.

We have tabled this amendment for 2% up to €300,000 along with two other amendments and another on consolidation. The latter relates to relief being available where farmers who have units of land that might be ten or 15 miles away may be in a position to sell it if another piece of land was for sale closer to them. The 2% stamp duty is not about farmers alone, it is pertinent to every Deputy who lives in rural Ireland. I asked about the rural-proofing of the budget. Every Deputy across the country is trying to encourage people in small towns, especially where many businesses have closed due to the recession, and the premises are left vacant. This is not a matter that concerns one party or group alone; everyone is trying to encourage people to open businesses and make towns more vibrant again. Added to that, there is a major problem within the farming sector where large operators who have the funds are able to mop up lands, while we are trying to encourage young people to take over the land. The idea of increasing the threshold to €300,000 at 2% is for the benefit of the many farmers who do not have the same flexibility with a bank as larger operators, when a small piece of land comes up near them. It would probably be the most land that a farmer would buy in their life. Looking at the trends for protecting a family farm, it is often the case that a farmer will need to buy an extra piece of land to consolidate the farm for the future. We must make this decision to protect family farms, that is why we propose that those farmers be given the opportunity along with other small businesses, such as hardware shop or other small shops which had closed. It is great to see some parts of the country improve, but there are still many areas with vacant buildings. This budget is telling them that they must pay and extra €8,000 or €12,000 for a building that we should be encouraging them to buy. Money is not that freely available and there are people who are reaching their thresholds.

There is significant confusion over consanguinity which I hope the Minister and the Department will clarify. There is supposed to be a document that says that if someone is buying land and the deposit was paid prior to the budget and the deal is finished by the year end, the purchaser is not liable for this. Will the Minister confirm this? The 2% figure is included in this amendment to protect the small operator. We do not stand for landlordism or multinationals, we are talking about the person. If we fail to solve this problem, it will be another kick for rural communities and small towns, against everyone's efforts. I am not having a go at everyone; people are trying across the board to ensure fair play and get businesses open. If something like this is not done, there will be further demise in rural Ireland.

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