Ahern defends developers’ tax breaks

FORMER taoiseach Bertie Ahern has staunchly defended a special tax break which aimed to encourage the buying and selling of development land and which, it has emerged, cost the exchequer €800 million over a seven-year period during the Celtic Tiger era.

The Special Incentive Tax Rate – which was abolished last year along with a range of other tax breaks for rural and urban development that cost the exchequer €2 billion during the boom times.

Mr Ahern, who was taoiseach when development incentives were introduced, said yesterday that when the incentives were brought in “the place was in a disastrous place”.