Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 9 November 2017

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed)

10:00 am

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My understanding of the advice is that it is not possible to differentiate between different types of land. My amendment originally sought the exemption in respect of development land only. I accept the advice that it is not possible to differentiate between different types of land, but I did not hear in that advice any reference to it not being possible to differentiate between land and buildings. That is the issue. The change being made will result in huge windfalls for persons who were going to sell commercial buildings next year anyway. They would have had to pay 33% tax on the gains accruing to those properties over the four or five years they owned them, but as a result of this change they will be able to sell and pay no tax. I understood that the intention behind this change is to try to release land for housing development. Is there any way we can strip out buildings from land? As I said, there was no mention of that in the advice the Minister read out. Perhaps between now and Report Stage the Minister will examine whether there is any potential to have buildings stripped out of this, leaving only land?

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