Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 150: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance when the capital gains tax roll-over for businesses which upgrade to a new premises was abolished; the reason for doing so; the amount of tax take gained as a result for each year since this change was introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30697/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Capital gains tax roll-over relief was abolished in Budget 2003 as a means of widening the CGT tax base after the CGT rate was halved from 40% to 20% in Budget 1998. Other changes to the CGT code in the 2003 Budget included the abolition of indexation relief and the change in the CGT payment date. These changes were made in accordance with the overall taxation policy of widening the tax base in order to keep direct tax rates low. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that information is not compiled on a basis which enables an estimate to be made of the tax yield from abolishing the capital gains tax roll-over for businesses upgrading to a new premises. Accordingly, the specific information is not readily available and it either could not be obtained or could not be obtained without conducting a protracted investigation of the Revenue Commissioners' records.