McDowell needs lesson from his brother

IF Justice Minister, Michael McDowell, is really worried about the burden of stamp duty on first-time buyers, why does he not simply suggest it be a tax paid by the builder/speculator?

Of course I’m being facetious.

As a well-known economist recently explained, stamp duty is actually a tax on the transaction and it doesn’t matter a damn who is writing the cheque. Like any tax on a transaction it is, in reality, a tax on the seller’s profit.