Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The site value tax is a policy that has floated around in my party for a very long time. Economists tend to like the idea because it is very clear and effective. However, very few EU countries apply it in its purest sense and tend to use a much more mediated version. Certainly we looked at the report compiled by the Commission on Taxation and Welfare that recommended we keep the current housing tax set up and simply apply the tax to land.

Would the witnesses like to comment on that? Is that how they envisage it? Other countries in the EU have that kind of half-and-half version.