Minister Hackett announced details of €14.35 support for the horticulture sector in a statement. The minister said “This will support a continued capital investment programme of €10 million, and €1.35 million to support the delivery of the National Strategy for Horticulture. In addition, I am pleased to confirm that I am allocating €3 million to provide advance payments to Producer Organisations under the EU-funded scheme for the fruit and vegetables sector”.
Listed below is a summary of the key budget impacts
- The income tax standard rate bands have been increased by €2,000.
- The income tax rates (20% & 40%) have not been changed
- There has been a €100 increase in the principle tax credits
- An adjustment has been made to the 2% USC band and the middle band has been reduced by 0.5%
- PRSI rates are due to increase by 0.1% from October 2024
- Relief for Certain Income from Leasing of Farm Land – restriction on relief on land purchased from 1 January 2024
- Stock Relief for Registered Farm Partnerships has been amended in this budget to increase the threshold from €15,000 to €20,000 in the case of qualifying periods commencing on or after 1 January 2024.
- Changes will kick in from 1 Jan 2025 to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Retirement Relief upper limits with positive increases through moving the age where these limits apply upwards. There is also a new limit applying to transfers from parent to child.
- No changes to Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) and Stamp Duty rates.
- Stamp Duty Consanguinity Relief has been further extended until 31st December 2028
The VAT flat rate farmer addition rate is to decrease from 5% to 4.8% from 1st January 2024. There are also changes to the VAT registration thresholds. - There have been significant changes to Social Protection Payments for 2024 with a general €12 weekly increase applied. Some additional once off cost of living support payments have also been announced.
- EU State Aid cap on certain relief/ credit increased from €70,000 to €100,000
- Additional funding has been allocated for specific measures relating to Agriculture including
- Agri Environment scheme funding for ACRES – total allocation of €200 million to cover 50,000 farming participants
- National Forestry Programme—€110 million in funding
- Targeted supports for the beef and sheep sectors – €113 million to fund measures including €200/ cow payment, and €20/ ewe total payments for 2024. €6.5m dairy beef scheme; €5m funding for genotyping programme
- TAMS3 – approval for new measures to grant aid storage facilities beyond regulatory compliance.
- Tillage farming support—€8m in funding allocated
- Horticulture—€14.35 million to support National Strategy for Horticulture
Organic Farming Scheme – €57 million allocated for 2024 - Multi-Species / Red Clover Swards—grant to support the planting of these awards
- Farm Safety – budget of €2.5 million to support initiatives
- Soil Sampling Scheme & Farm Environmental Scheme —continued funding of €13.3 million
