Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 542: To ask the Minister for Finance the progress that has been made in the promised review of an avoidance of stamp duties by developers, builders etc., by the use of arrangements such as licensing and sales of shares in companies thus avoiding stamp duty; the estimated tax cut of such avoidance and the number of such transactions that are estimated to have taken place in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29748/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Stamp Duty is a charge on documents, which are mostly legal documents, used in the transfer of property. Where a property is purchased, stamp duty is charged on the conveyance or transfer effecting change of legal ownership of the property concerned.

If there is no conveyance, there is no stamp duty. A builder or developer can, therefore, obtain a licence from a vendor to build on land owned by the vendor without incurring a stamp duty charge at that stage of the venture. Once the buildings, whether commercial or residential, are completed, the conveyances or transfers of such properties to purchasers are chargeable to stamp duty in the normal manner unless specific exemptions are available to such purchasers, for example first time buyers.

It should be noted that, as the documentation in relation to such arrangements does not have to be stamped, the information necessary to establish the extent of these practices is not readily available to Revenue. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that accordingly they are progressing the review of the use of measures to avoid stamp duties by developers, builders etc in a broader context as part of their project on the construction sector in 2006 and will advise me of the outcome of the review when it is completed.