Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 115: To ask the Minister for Finance if the increase in receipts in stamp duties to date in 2006 has been anticipated; and his plans to reduce reliance on this tax. [33195/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

At end-September my Department had expected that receipts from Stamp duty would be €93 million greater than the corresponding period in 2005. The fact that receipts were €780 million ahead of the corresponding period in 2005 is due to the unforeseen, continued buoyancy of the property market.

While revenues from Stamp duty have made an increasing contribution to the Exchequer in recent years, we are not overly reliant on receipts from this source. Our forecast yield for Stamp duties in 2006 represented just over 6 per cent of forecast total revenues overall. By comparison, the two largest tax-heads in terms of receipts, Income tax and VAT, together accounted for some 60 per cent of expected revenues this year.