Kieran Coughlan: Capital gains tax amnesty opportunity for about 40,000 renters

Land owners who previously farmed their holdings but who are currently letting their land by conacre arrangements should take note that 2016 may provide them with an amnesty opportunity, when it comes to CGT on a subsequent disposal of their farms.

As part of the Agri-taxation review concluded in 2013, a number of recommendations were made to encourage land owners to enter into long-term leasing arrangements rather than the more traditional conacre-type arrangements.

Participating in the review, the then president of Macra, Kieran O’Dowd, summed up: “Realistically, farmers are not going to be in a position to buy land, and allowing them to lease land for terms of between five and 15 years will allow them to borrow from the banks to make affordable capital investments.”