Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Last question for you, Mr. Bruton, if I may. Mr. Bruton, in a budget delivered by the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat Government in December 1997, the Government reduced capital gains tax from 40% to 20%. In the subsequent ten years, during the property bubble, massive profits were made by land speculators and developers. There was ... it was said at this tribunal when Mr. Derek Quinlan was here that one syndicate of wealthy people that he organised made €53 million on a land deal and that particular tax reduction reduced their tax liability from €21 million to €10 million, making a gain of €10 million ... €10.5 for wealthy individuals. In the 2007 Fine Gael manifesto, you very specifically opted to keep that tax break. In view of the major speculation and profit-taking that had occurred previously, why did you maintain that position?