Stamp duty system needs radical overhaul

IRELAND’S stamp duty regime, as it is now constituted, is an ill-conceived and ill-constructed tax on the mobility of individuals and families.

With reference to the 0% stamp duty rate on properties up to €127,000, it is clear that the system is in need of a radical overhaul.

Perhaps when the changeover from Irish punts (£100,000) to (€127,000) occurred, this band had some meaning. Today, it has none.

Because the applicable rate is charged on the full purchase price, not just the portion of the price above the threshold, no house buyer received any benefit from the 0% band last year.

A second-time buyer purchasing a house priced at €381,000.00 is assessed at the 6% rate, or €22,860.

The same buyer purchasing a house priced at €381,001 is assessed at the 7.5% rate, or €28,575.

If the buyer is purchasing a house priced at €635,000, it, too, is assessed at the 7.5% rate, or €47,625.

However, if the buyer purchases a house at €635,001, it is assessed at the top 9% rate, or €57,150.09.

Perhaps, like the Russia of old, Ireland’s stamp duty is a “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”.

Martin Whelan

Head of Public Affairs

Construction Industry Federation

Construction House

Canal Rd

Dublin 6