Cowen publishes bill to scrap stamp duty for first-timers

Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has published legislation that will scrap stamp duty for first-time buyers in line with Fianna Fáil's pre-election promises.

The bill was approved by the Cabinet this morning and is expected to be passed into law within the next two weeks.

It will abolish stamp-duty and backdate the measure to the end of March, a month earlier than Fianna Fáil had initially promised.

Anyone who has bought a house since that date will be able to reclaim their stamp duty once the legislation becomes law.

A few months ago, the party was steadfastly refusing to abolish stamp duty, saying it was not interested in interfering in the property market.

However, it did a complete u-turn during the election campaign when every other party promised to reform the controversial tax regime for home-buyers.

The changes published today are expected to cost the Exchequer around €70m in lost revenue every year.

Brian Cowan tells of what will be done in the area of stamp duty for first time buyers, and explains the benefits that buyers will notice when the new legislation is in place.