Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A budget measure that will impact negatively on the farming community is the increase in stamp duty from 2% to 6%. It is grossly unfair that commercial property is treated in the same way as farm land under the tax code. There are exemptions available for developers and a stamp duty rebate if they build and move a development on within 30 months but there is no such rebate available to farmers. A farmer who buys a farm for €500,000 and who cannot avail of the family farm exemption or the under-35 exemption has an additional cost of €20,000 and this will disincentivise farmers who are trying to increase the viability of their farms, leading to a negative impact on the rural economy.

There has to be an amendment to the Finance Act to create a distinction between commercial property and farming land. I support Senator Boyhan's call for the Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine to come to the House for a debate on the issue. He spoke in the other House on the issue last night and his comments were not what the farming community was looking for but this issue will be a major cause of concern to farmers all over the country.