Residential Zoned Land Tax "coming down the tracks" warns Cllr Paul Canning

Residential Zoned Land Tax is "coming down the tracks" but the Donegal public knows little or nothing about it.

That was the claim at Tuesday's meeting of the Inishowen Municipal District by its chairman, Cllr Paul Canning.

Some see it as a punitive tax aimed at discouraging the hoarding of development land, the Government feels it will be another tool in their arsenal to tackle the housing crisis. Either way local politicians feel unprepared to inform the public about its implications.

This annual tax is set at 3% of the market value of the land and will be collected by Revenue; it’s coming into effect in February 2024 and will replace the current vacant sites levy.

Donegal County Council is in the process of developing a map to identify land that meets the relevant criteria and is subject to the tax.

The objective of the tax is to activate land that is serviced and zoned for residential use or mixed-use, including residential use, in order to increase the housing supply and to ensure the regeneration of vacant and idle lands in urban locations. Agricultural land is not exempt from this new tax.

These locations have been identified within statutory land use plans as being appropriate locations for housing and they have benefitted from investment in the key services to support the delivery of housing. 

Cllr Canning said he had concerns that the public did not know what was "coming down the tracks" with the new tax.

"I really think we should hold a workshop on it because I don't think the general public is aware of the circumstances and the complications this will bring when it is introduced in January 2024.

"It will be collected by Revenue Commissioners and they take no prisoners. I think we need to be aware of the land that will be zoned and not zoned."

He added some towns will have zones in their town plans which could have financial implications for people who did not realise this tax was coming down the track.

Cllr Rena Donaghey said he agreed it was vitally important they do this as soon as possible because to date anyone who had spoken about it was not aware of the implications.

"An awful lot of people are not aware of this. Between 3% and 7% is going to be charged on land or sites that you have but are not utilising. People are asking us and the planners to have the land rezoned. Normally that is what people would be looking to have done because they want to build on it. If they are successful in getting land rezoned but they are not using it, they also fall into the category between 3% and 7% and that will be collected by Revenue."

She added the council now needed to create an awareness of what was going to happen.

Killian Smith from the Inishowen MD's planning section said they had people in the council's central processing unit working on that specific topic.

"It's at the early stages at the moment. I will bring that request for a workshop to bring members up to speed. I will also pass on that you want an awareness campaign so the public can be given a clear picture of what it entails and what the timescales are," he added.