Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister knows, I had a lot of engagement with him on the Finance Bill. I tabled several amendments to the Bill and debated them with the Minister on the floor of the House. My question simply asks what cost-benefit analysis, if any, was carried out by the Department of Finance before the introduction of changes to stamp duty relating to agricultural land. Stamp duty is a dangerous tax upon which to predicate any budget because it can change drastically from one year to the next, depending on outturns, sales and so forth. As the Minister knows, there is not a lot happening in rural Ireland. We need stimulation rather than measures that will curtail activity.

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