Political reaction:Wealthy parents will be able to gift sites worth up to €250,000 to their children without any stamp duty liability because of changes to be brought in by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen in the Finance Bill, the Labour Party has said.
Describing the Bill as a "rather bizarre mixture of further tax breaks and incentives for the chosen few", Labour's Joan Burton said the stamp duty changes included in Section 97 of the Bill "will singularly benefit parents who are rich enough to have sites of up to an acre and worth up to a quarter of a million to gift to their children. These transfers will also be exempt from capital gains tax," she said.
She said the legislation is silent "in relation to the dilemma of first-time buyers buying a second-hand home costing more than €317,500 or indeed young couples trading up to buy a modest family property for a growing family where many such families face stamp duty bills routinely of €30,000-€60,000".
However, she welcomed the decision to exempt amateur sporting bodies from stamp duty on the acquisition of sports fields and grounds, a decision that had been long sought by the GAA and other sporting bodies.
Green Party TD Dan Boyle said the degree of "cossetting" being offered by the Government to the horse stud industry is more "than a little curious" and begs the question as to why it needs so much care.
"Indeed, the new measures seem to be even more favourable to stud farm owners.
"These measures will not be introduced until August 2008. Stud farms will be able to carry over unused reliefs from the current system to the new system.
"Running expenses will be taken against any likely tax liability as will the purchase of stallions, which will be treated as a capital allowance discounted over a four-year period," Mr Boyle said.
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