Dr. Barra Roantree:

Just to add a little bit, the Deputy is entirely right. One of the reasons we are so strong in saying this is an area in housing where tax reliefs should be avoided is because when they are introduced they can become very distortionary very quickly and then it becomes hard to bring them out. These things become harder to take out the longer they go on. I do not think it is impossible. It might be that one might not increase the thresholds for a while before turning it off but we are absolutely cognisant that once these things are in they are very hard to get rid of, politically and also because developers and even house buyers can become reliant on them. It is not an easy thing to do but it demonstrates why with this, and we also make the point about reduced rates of VAT, that it is better to stay away from them in the first place. There is a transition issue in coming away from it but then again, taking the longer view at which our report is aimed, hopefully we will not introduce it in the first place in future. We can try to withdraw ourselves but we completely acknowledge that this is one of the areas where it can be particularly messy and tricky.