Ms Anne Marie Walshe:

Regarding alternatives, the Thornhill review looked at different ways of taxing property and agreed that a local property tax based on market value was most appropriate. I mentioned the commission on taxation and welfare. It has specific terms of reference related to housing policy and taxation of housing, including looking at site value tax and examining alternatives. We have a number of wealth taxes, including capital gains tax and property tax. They tend to be taxes on assets rather than income. We already have a progressive income tax system. We have no specific proposals to change the system. LPT has a high compliance rate. It is relatively simple and well understood. There are no immediate plans to change it. The programme for Government commitment is to reform the tax and provides that most homeowners will not face an increase. The Minister has done his best to deliver on that. It brings in the houses that were falling outside the tax.