Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The young trained farmer stamp duty relief provides for full exemption from stamp duty on transfers of farm land to certain young trained farmers. To qualify, the farmer receiving the transfer must be less than 35 years of age on the date of execution of the deed of transfer; must have attained a minimum agricultural education from a list set out in legislation; must for a period of five years spend not less than 50% of his or her working life farming the land; must retain the ownership of the land; and must submit a business plan to Teagasc before the execution of the deed transferring the land. The exemption granted will be withdrawn if the land is disposed of within a five-year period and not replaced within one year of disposal.

The primary policy objectives of the Government in agri-taxation are to support and encourage the increased mobility of farm land to a new generation of farmers with relevant qualifications. The 35 year old age limit is long established for young trained farmer stamp duty relief and has applied since 1994. It is the only stamp duty relief in the agriculture sector to which an age limit applies. The Deputy is seeking the removal of the age limit for the young trained farmer relief in order that it might be available to all farmers who hold a relevant agricultural qualification. The stamp duty relief for young trained farmers, together with stock relief for young trained farmers and succession under partnership schemes, is granted under the EU's agricultural block exemption regulation. It allows the granting of certain categories of state aid to the agriculture and forestry sectors and in rural areas without prior notification being given to the Commission. If the age limit was removed, allowing the relief would no longer be eligible for state aid approval under the scheme. That is the reason I cannot agree to it.

It is also important to note that the young trained farmer stamp duty relief is just one of a series of tax measures, including consanguinity stamp duty relief, designed to encourage the intergenerational transfer of farms. In 2017, for example, the succession farm partnership scheme was launched, which provides for a €25,000 tax credit over five years to further assist with the transfer of farms within the partnership structure, and promote and support the earlier intergenerational transfer of family farms. Of course, stamp duty consanguinity relief on non-residential transfers at 1% still applies to those who do not meet the criteria for the stamp duty exemption and transfers of land to young trained farmers, and this will continue to assist in succession in such cases. Support of the farming sector through taxation measures is a priority of mine. The agricultural-specific tax measures in place were valued at €188.7 million in 2016, while the sector as a whole benefited from €830 million in respect of a broader range of tax expenditures and just under €1.8 billion in direct expenditures for 2016. Such reliefs are made available because of the support the farming sector needs and to incentivise young trained farmers to be active in the sector. They also place the right kind of measure to support farming consolidation and the passage of land through generations of farmers.

See this speech in context