Kildare Senator Fiona O’Loughlin has received clarity on the Department of Finance’s position in relation to the Young Trained Farmer Stamp Duty Relief.

Senator O’Loughlin noted that recently in the Seanad she raised the issue of the proposed change to the stamp duty exemption and how it could impact negatively on many farmers.

“Heretofore, when a farm is transferred from one generation to the next and it has been incorporated into a limited company, there has been a stamp duty exemption scheme for young trained farmers, which encouraged that changeover to happen before the appointed successor was 35 years of age,” she said.

“The issue arose from Revenue having recently updated their guidance relating to that popular relief, which at the time stated that ‘the transferee must farm the land themselves and not through a company. The relief is not intended to apply where a farm is leased to a company or for companies to benefit from the relief.’

“This would be seen as unwelcome by farming interests, as many family farms have opted in recent years to trade as companies, and as such would seemingly, based on a strict interpretation of the above referenced element of the new guidance, be excluded from availing of the stamp duty relief under section 81AA of SDCA 1999.”

Senator O’Loughlin added: “Revenue have since updated their guidelines, which I believe deals with the issues raised by allowing relief such that ‘the transferee spends at least 50% of his or her normal working time farming the transferred land may be satisfied where he or she carries out the farming activities through a company or a partnership. For the relief to apply in the case of a company, the individual must be the main shareholder and working director of the company and must farm the land on behalf of the company.’ I welcome the clarity provided by the Minister.”