Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On Tuesday, 6 October, Daft.iepublished its latest house prices report, which is an analysis of recent trends in the residential sales market in the third quarter of 2015. The report states house prices in Dublin have risen by on average 41% since 2012. The average price of a house in south County Dublin is a staggering €520,000. By contrast, the average price of a house in Cork city is €225,000. There is a clear anti-Dublin bias with regard to inheritance tax. For example, an only child who inherits his or her parents' home, worth €500,000, will be forced to pay €90,000 in inheritance tax. Children who inherit are being forced to sell the family home or borrow money to meet the bill. In 2014 Revenue collected €168 million in inheritance tax from Dublin based taxpayers alone. This represents more than 50% of the total amount collected nationally. The thresholds were reduced to reflect the fall in property prices, but they have not been readjusted since property prices began to rise in Dublin. Current inheritance tax levels constitute an opportunistic grab by the Government. Last week I presented my proposals on this issue to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, at his Department, with a petition with over 1,000 signatures of people living in Dublin asking for it to be addressed in the coming budget. In 2008 the threshold was €521,000; today it is €250,000. I, therefore, ask the Minister to restore the threshold to its 2008 level of €521,000, on which the tax rate was 20%. Today it is 33%. I, therefore, ask the Minister to restore it to its 2008 level of 20%-----