Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy has in a sense postponed the amendment until next year so I will be brief in my reply. I will not take this as meaning that the Deputy agrees with the matter this year and I will not misinterpret it as such. The amendment seeks to grant special treatment to those individuals who invest in capital assets in order to satisfy environmental requirements of the sector in which they are trading. That is contrary to the general thrust of the policy underpinning the levy as it would place certain taxpayers in a preferred position over others. There is relief in the tax system for such capital investments allowing the investor to write off in full the relevant cost of the investment over a defined period against income tax.

Question, "That the words proposed to be deleted stand", put and declared carried.

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