Sir, – John O’Donnell (March 11th) notes that it is 30 years since a group of farmers successfully challenged the constitutionality of the then system of agricultural rates. He asks why the self-assessment of value, as currently applied in taxing residential property, could not provide a basis for taxing agricultural land and is there not inequality in taxing only commercial and residential property?
There is a vast difference between other commercial premises and agricultural land. A business can easily move to larger or smaller premises as its commercial situation requires. Many businesses can move across county boundaries in search of a more competitive rate on equal sized premises, encouraging local authorities to keep rates low. The same cannot reasonably be said of a farmer.
Mr O’Donnell does draw attention to a very serious equity problem facing local authorities. As e-commerce becomes more prevalent and a physical base for a business becomes less universal, does it make sense to levy a commercial rate on physical assets any more? Re-introducing rates on agricultural land will not spread the burden more equally unless productive and commercial assets of all kinds for all sectors were equitably taxed, including websites, client lists, trademarks, goodwill – a practical impossibility. – Yours, etc,
COLM MURPHY,
Upper Kilmacud Road,
Co Dublin.