Vol. 517 No. 6
199 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Finance if he will amend the relief from stamp duty on transfer of agricultural land to young trained farmers from the limit of under 35 years of age to under 40 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10490/00]
In order to promote lifetime transfers of land and encourage more young people to pursue farming, section 112 of the Finance Act, 1994, provided for a two-thirds relief from stamp duty on the transfer of land to a young trained farmer. This relief was introduced for a three year period and was extended for a further three years until 31 December 1999 in the Finance Act, 1997. Under the terms of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, the two-thirds relief is increased to a full relief in the Finance Act, 2000, for three years until 31 December 2002.
For the purposes of the relief a "young trained farmer" is one who: is under 35 years of age at the date of execution of the transfer; and is the holder of one of the specified qualifications, for example, the Teagasc certificate in farming; or if born before 1 January 1968, has three years experience in farming together with satisfactory completion of Teagasc training courses in agriculture and horticulture of 180 hours duration.
Where the transferee has completed at least one academic year of the Teagasc certificate in farming at the date of execution of the transfer, he/she may obtain the relief by way of a refund provided that the qualification is obtained within three years of the date of execution of the transfer.
This is a very generous relief as it currently stands and cannot be availed of by any other sector. I have no plans to increase the age limit from 35 to 40 years.
200 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Finance if he will exempt sporting organisations from VAT, particularly on the building of sport facilities, in view of the voluntary work they contribute to local communities. [10491/00]
The position is that the VAT treatment of sporting organisations is a direct consequence of EU VAT law, with which Irish law must comply. Under the Sixth VAT Directive, a wide range of charitable and voluntary and sporting activities are deemed to be exempt for VAT purposes. This means that the organisations involved do not charge VAT on their services but, as a necessary corollary, they are unable to recover the VAT they bear on the goods and services that they purchase in the course of their activities. Generally speaking, VAT can only be recovered by registered businesses.
