THE anxiety and frustration being caused by the new residential zoned land tax has again been highlighted at council level in Mayo.
The one size fits all solution to address land hoarding by developers and investors in cities is causing huge concern, especially to farmers on the outskirts of towns in Mayo who face the prospect of big tax bills from Revenue.
Councillor Al McDonnell said there is great fear and confusion and the matter needs to be cleared up at national level where it has not been fully clarified.
There are plots in Castlebar zoned residential which have been valued and as a consequence land tax payments would be in the region of €50,000 a year – on lands that are undeveloped with a few cattle grazing on them.
People want to have their lands dezoned to agricultural use and non-development as a result.
Councillor Al McDonnell raised the matter in the context of the Local Area Plan (LAP) for Castlebar, which has been published. Two other LAPs are being prepared for Ballina and Westport.
There were over 40 submissions received on the Castlebar LAP and the manager’s report was to not accept any of them, he said. They were either noted or rejected.
Elected members, he said, had a lot of work to do on this.
Director of services Catherine McConnell said the council could not make any decisions with regards the land tax zonings. If lands meet the criteria they had no discretion.
Councillor McDonnell said he has had people in his office who are ‘extremely distressed’ over this.
The landowner has constitutional rights, he pointed out, and he felt this could be challenged in law.
Ms. McConnell agreed that rules to developers and institutions who are land hoarding is a policy that makes sense, but not here.
Councillor McDonnell: “This is a big city issue for which ordinary people are paying a hell of a price in some instances.”
Councillor Cruise said the conversation highlighted the ‘lunacy’ of this approach.
They should be finding out if land is owned by institutional investors rather than aiming it at people who have land in their families for generations. The issue was one for large towns and cities and a one size fits all doesn’t work.
Councillor Martin McLoughlin said they were talking about small farms, where area aid is paid out, not people who were hoarding land.
He made the point that Revenue would have first say if farms were changing hands.
Cathaoirleach Councillor Mark Duffy said it is frustrating that a one size fits all approach is being taken.
There needs to be a stick approach for some people but allowances were needed for certain situations, like had been raised at the meeting – council’s economic development, enterprise support, planning and marine strategic policy committee.