The IFA has expressed anger and outrage at the Government's intention to bring in an 80% tax on gains from disposal of rezoned land.
IFA Farm Business Committee Chairman James Kane said farmers see this proposal as an attack on the right to free sale of private property.
He said that many farmers are expressing the view that it is a first step in undermining private property ownership, reminiscent of the 'Communist system of Eastern Europe in past decades'.
He said: 'A tax rate of 80% does not apply anywhere else in the tax system. It is an extreme over-reaction to the recent property price bubble, and is seen as a sop to the Greens, while the main victims will be farmers'.
'There is an importance distinction to be made between farmers who own land in the long-term, as opposed to property speculators who buy agricultural land for speculative gain'.
Mr Kane also said that the Government can extricate itself from the worst extremes of the 80% Capital Gains Tax (CGT), and that IFA has put forward reasonable and equitable proposals.
He added: 'Land acquired through the Compulsary Purchase Order system, and non-rezoned land sold at prices above agricultural prices should not be subject to the higher rate of CGT'.
