Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is difficult to see this tax break as anything other than an expensive sop to landlords. That is why Professor Barra Roantree, formerly of the ESRI, described this tax break as "Maybe the stupidest tax relief of recent times", with the vast majority going to landlords who never even thought of leaving the market. The Minister says there is a risk of deadweight. Is he telling me that he has not even calculated the deadweight? He probably does not want to calculate the deadweight because it is absolutely massive. He should consider the view of his own Department, which noted this year:

Finally, taxation of rental income is often cited as a push factor for Buy-to-Let investors. In fact ... the way in which rental income is treated for tax purposes hasn't changed. Personal rates of income tax have always applied to rental income.

In fact, landlords have benefited from changes to their personal taxation system every year for the past number of years. The fact is that the effective rate on landlords has fallen, not increased; it is actually dropping. Furthermore, the Department noted that accidental landlords are cashing out as house prices have soared and this tax break is going to do nothing to stop it. Is it not the case that this is an expensive sop to landlords that is not going to have any impact whatsoever on the rental market other than increasing the landlords' bank balances?

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