Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 November 2018
217. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to raise with the Minister for Finance issues raised by a farming organisation (details supplied) regarding the cumulative lifetime cap of €70,000 on the amount of tax relief that can be availed of by young farmers as proposed in the Finance Bill 2018. [46452/18]
View answerTaxation policy is the responsibility of the Minister for Finance. However, I have on-going contact with Minister Donohoe to ensure that taxation policy reflects the Government’s commitment to agriculture. The following tax or stamp duty relief schemes come within article 18 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014, the Agriculture Block Exemption Regulation (ABER) which sets out State Aid rules for primary agriculture:
- section 81AA of the Stamp Duty Consolidation Act 1999 (which provides a stamp duty exemption for transfers of land to young trained farmers);
- section 667B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (which provides an income tax relief in respect of increases in the value of farm trading stock).
- section 667D TCA 1997(which provides an annual tax credit of up to €5,000 for succession farm partnerships where an approved partnership culminates in the transfer of at least 80% of the farm assets from the original farmer to the successor).
Article 18 of the ABER Regulation provides for the state aid rules in relation to start-up aid for young farmers and the development of farms. Paragraph (7) of the article provides that “the aid amount per young farmer shall be based on the socioeconomic situation of the Member State concerned and shall be limited to EUR 70 000”. This means that the maximum aid amount allowed under the three schemes is €70,000 per each farmer who qualifies for the relief.
EU state aid regulations are legal acts that have direct effect in all EU countries. Ireland does not, therefore, have the power to vary the limit. Introducing the cumulative €70,000 limit in the Finance Bill is designed to provide clarity on how the limit applies in relation to the three reliefs.
The Revenue Commissioners have informed my Department that the limit will be applied in respect of claims for relief made in relation to stamp duty for conveyances or transfers executed on or after 1 January 2019, and for the year of assessment 2019 and subsequent years of assessment for stock relief and succession farm partnership relief.
