Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

235. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to reintroduce the windfall gain tax on rezoned lands abolished in budget 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25264/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The National Asset Management Agency Act 2009 amended the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 by providing for an 80% windfall tax on profits or gains arising from disposals of development land, to the extent that those gains were attributable to a relevant planning decision.

Section 31 of Finance Act 2014 repealed the 80% tax rate on these profits or gains with effect from 1 January 2015.

The impetus for this latter amendment to the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 came from the views expressed by various parties in both the private and public sector, with which the Minister for Finance at the time agreed, that the windfall tax provisions were acting and would act as an impediment to land rezoning, land development and redevelopment and to land sales for development.

The re-introduction of such a windfall tax on a similar basis is likely to act as a disincentive to landowners to dispose of such property, which could be detrimental to the Government policy to encourage home building.

In any event sales of land, including rezoned land, are normally subject to Capital Gains Tax at a rate of 33 per cent. I consider this rate to be appropriate and therefore I have no plans to introduce a windfall gain tax on rezoned lands.