Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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178. To ask the Minister for Finance the steps he has taken to ensure that foreign companies' assets in Ireland, including loan book acquisitions, are correctly recorded with stamp duty recorded at the discounted price acquired in order to ensure capital gains tax is correctly reported and paid upon the disposal of the asset by the foreign company. [24087/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that stamp duty would generally be payable on a foreign company’s acquisition of Irish-situated property.  When submitting the stamp duty return to Revenue in respect of the acquisition of such property, the foreign company would return the amount of the consideration paid for its acquisition of the property. However, in practice, stamp duty is not generally payable on the acquisition of loans as distinct from the underlying property as the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act (SDCA) 1999 provides for a range of exemptions from the charge. Prior to 7 December 2006, stamp duty was chargeable on documents securing loans on property situated in this country and any subsequent transfer of such secured loans. Section 100 Finance Act 2007 terminated this charge for such ‘mortgage’ documents executed after this date. In such situations, there is no requirement to file a stamp duty return.

In the case of a foreign company, gains on the disposal of chargeable assets are generally liable to capital gains tax (CGT). Those assets include land and buildings situated in this country (including unquoted shares which derive their value or the greater part of their value from such assets) and assets associated with a trade carried on in this country through a branch or agency.

It should be noted that where the sale proceeds from the disposal of foreign company assets exceed €500,000, the purchaser is obliged to deduct 15% from the sale proceeds and remit that amount to Revenue unless the vendor has obtained a certificate of clearance from Revenue as regards CGT.  Such a certificate is required in the case of loans secured on land or buildings situated in this country and assets referred to in the previous paragraph which are disposed of by a foreign company.  The certificate of clearance ensures that disposals of such Irish assets come to Revenue’s attention where the sale proceeds exceed €500,000 and that any CGT due is paid in respect of gains on such disposals.