Minister for Finance Jack Chambers has confirmed to that the Government is set to defer the residential zoned land tax for another year due to concerns it could inadvertently impact on "active" farmers.
However, Sinn Féin has criticised the move, saying it believes the deferral is designed to help developers and that Sinn Féin rather than Government has called in recent years for active farmers to be excluded from the potential tax.
The residential zoned land tax has been planned for a number of years as an attempt to target land hoarding by developers and other individuals during the housing crisis.
However, concerns have emerged that the planned tax could also inadvertently impact "active" farmers whose land is also zoned for potential residential use.
After reports today that the tax could be deferred, Minister Chambers told RTÉ News that the Government does intend to defer the tax and that it wants to ensure active farmers are fully excluded from it.
"I'm working on proposals to defer the residential zoned land tax for a further year, and this is to exclude active farmers from this tax," he said.
"It would place a disproportionate and unfair burden on active farmers if this tax was to be imposed annually, and I'm listening to the concerns of farmers and rural communities in relation to this tax."
Minister Chambers' comments came after Taoiseach Simon Harris earlier told reporters that "as long as I'm Taoiseach no active farmer" will have to pay the residential zoned land tax.
"I've said it many times, I said it when I became [Fine Gael] leader, I said it to the Irish Farmers Association, it was never meant to be about penalising a farmer, an active farmer," the Taoiseach said.
"And I think the IFA's position on this has been very reasonable, because they too differentiate between an active farmer and somebody who is maybe not being an active farmer and is trying to avoid paying tax.
"So, the Government will make a decision as a collective on this around the budget time.
"But the Department of Finance, in my view, needs to fix this legislation. It needs to come forward with proposals as to how this legislation can be applied.
"I don't want to see people hoarding land, but I also do not want to see an active farmer wrongly get taxed.
"Whether they decide to defer it for another year, or amending legislation, I'm open to engagement," the Taoiseach said.
"Sinn Féin have been telling this Government for the last three years that active farmers should never have been included in this proposal and they refused to listen, so I'm glad that they're catching up today," the party's Spokesperson on Finance, Pearse Doherty, said.
"But it is the land hoarders, the speculators who are sitting on land instead of developing that are the real winners today.
"Because just like last year Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil now plan to put this tax off in the middle of a housing crisis," Mr Doherty said.
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