Greens are angry over plans to defer residential zoned land tax, moving from find-a-fudge mode to start-a-fight mode
Green Party TD Ossian Smyth: 'What we are not going to do is defer the tax for a year. I would never accept that. That is not going to happen.' Photograph: Nick Bradshaw for The Irish Times
This is a budget battle, yes, but the Green Party is also laying down a more significant marker in advance of the general election. The party is moving from find-a-fudge mode to start-a-fight mode. Entering the boxing ring this week was Minister of State Ossian Smyth, who told RTÉ's Claire Byrne that he was “amazed” to read about the plans to defer the tax. On air, he sounded simultaneously angry and perplexed.
The tax was originally introduced to penalise people who were hoarding land during a housing crisis. To come within the scope of the RZLT, farmland must be both zoned for residential use and serviced. The aim is to ensure an appropriate supply of housing on zoned lands; all parties agree on this part.
Landowners were given until the end of May to make dezoning requests. A senior Government source said: “It became clear around this time that many active farmers were still affected, and this is where the problem has arisen.” They said that some farmers who sought the dezoning of their lands have experienced difficulty doing so. It is not clear, however, how many farmers are actually affected by this.
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