Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Question 143: To ask the Minister for Finance the advice taken on the legal aspects of the proposal to restrict or guillotine property tax incentives in budget 2011; if he will publish same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21118/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Finance with the support of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners engaged in discussions with the Office of the Attorney General (AG) in relation to the many complex issues and attributes of the various "legacy" property-based tax schemes. The measures provided for in the Finance Act 2011 are in line with the advice received from the AG. We do not publish legal advice from the Attorney General.

The Programme for Government states that property tax reliefs and other tax shelters which benefit very high income earners will be reduced, capped or abolished. To this end a public consultation is currently underway as the first stage in a process to assess the possible impacts of such changes on the "legacy" property-based tax relief schemes. The consultation paper and details of how to make submissions are available on the Department of Finance's tax policy website www.taxpolicy.gov.ie. The consultation will run from 23 June to 29 July 2011.

The purpose of this consultation is to provide an opportunity for all interested parties to offer input on how the impact assessment should proceed in determining an appropriate policy approach to the "legacy" reliefs including Section 23 type reliefs. The Minister is keen to hear from all parties on this issue and has invited interested parties to respond to the consultation paper. The impact assessment will consider the economic impact of curtailing the costs to the State of outstanding or 'legacy' reliefs, which have so far not been fully claimed by investors. It will provide a better understanding of the benefits that may accrue to the Exchequer in terms of additional tax yield as well as consequences for investor groups and the wider economy arising from possible changes to the treatment of property-based legacy reliefs. The results of the assessment will be considered in the context of Budget 2012.