The government has announced that it will extend the liability for landowners impacted by the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) by one year.
Minister for Finance Michael McGrath made the announcement as he unveiled Budget 2024 in the Dáil today (Tuesday, October 10).
“The Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is an important initiative to activate suitably zoned and serviced land for housing,” he said.
“It is important that affected landowners have sufficient opportunity to engage with the mapping process and that a fair and transparent process is applied when the local authorities consider what land should be placed on the RZLT maps.
“Therefore, I am extending the liability date for the tax by one year to allow for the planned 2024 review of maps to take place and to afford affected people with a further opportunity to engage with the process,” Minister McGrath added.
RZLT
The RZLT, which had been due to come into force from next February, applies to land that is zoned for residential use and has access to services such as water supply, roads and lighting.
It is being introduced as part of the government’s Housing for All plan.
The tax – which will be calculated at 3% of the market value of land “in scope” – will operate on a self-assessment basis.
Last year, local authorities published draft RZLT maps outlining which particular lands would be subject to the new tax; the final map of land was due to be published on December 1, 2023.
The decision of the government to extend the liability for impacted landowners follows stinging criticism from farming organisations and politicians.
Analysis from the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), using the average price of zoned land outside of Dublin, previously estimated that farmers could face a tax bill of over €2,600/ac/yr under the current legislation.
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) said that it is aware that many of those farmers who have applied to have the land de-zoned have been rejected
“This tax is nothing less than a land grab which will destroy family farms that have committed no offence except to farm near cities, towns, and villages,” Dermot Kelleher, the ICSA president said.