Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty has welcomed indications today that the government will move to restrict dwelling house inheritance tax exemption.
Teachta Doherty said the exemption was being abused by wealthy people to avoid paying taxes.
The move follows Deputy Doherty’s questioning of Department officials in a private brief on the Finance Bill and his questioning of the Minister about the loophole.
Deputy Doherty said:
“Yesterday I submitted an amendment to the Finance Bill to restrict the Dwelling House exemption to genuine circumstances where home sharers inherit a property and I am glad to see a government amendment seeking the same goal has been submitted. The work of the whistle-blower and journalists who have taken an interest in this area must be commended.
“This loophole permitted people of high wealth to buy up properties to pass on tax free to their children. My suggested approach which I am glad the government is now supporting is to restrict this exemption to genuine family homes.
“I have been raising this issue for some time after a whistle-blower brought it to their attention.
“In May I asked the Minister what action he was going to take. I was disappointed by his response which lacked a firm commitment to act. I was also shocked to see how much the potential cost of this loophole could be.
“Last year €52m of tax was foregone because of this exemption. While we can’t say for certain what amount of that was as intended by the spirit of the legislation and what amount constituted an abuse, it does point to a potentially very costly loophole that needs to be shut.
“I look forward to teasing out the detail of my amendment and the government one next week.”
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