Government weighs construction VAT cut, export controls warning and paying for a fixer upper

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The Government is weighing cutting the VAT rate on home construction. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
The Government is weighing cutting the VAT rate on home construction. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

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Government officials are weighing a VAT cut for home-building in a move that could boost supply and cut house prices, according to the Tax Strategy Group papers published on Tuesday. There is a lot more in the reports, and Barry O’Halloran went through them. Meanwhile Cliff Taylor breaks down why what they omit matters as much as what is included.

The Tax Strategy Group papers came on the same day new figures from the Central Statistics Office confirmed the Government recorded a surplus of €1.8 billion in the first quarter of this year as its total revenue surged year-on-year. Laura Slattery reports.

Laura also reports that Minister of State for European Affairs Peter Burke has urged Irish exporters to prepare for new UK import controls set to be introduced at the end of October as a result of Brexit.

You’ve found your dream home, but it needs a lot of work. How do you pay for it? Brianna Parkins looks at how to finance that fixer upper.

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State body Horse Racing Ireland is joining forces with Aer Lingus to promote this year’s American Football College Classic in a bid to promote thoroughbred sales to the US. Barry has the details.

In her column, Sarah O’Connor looks at why some people need to be nudged towards saving and setting up a pension.

Irish property prices increased by 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to May, but there was a small contraction in the market inside the capital. The national Residential Property Price Index from the Central Statistics Office shows prices in Dublin decreased by 0.2 per cent, while prices outside Dublin went up by 4.5 per cent. Colin Gleeson has the story.

Irish adults continue to engage strongly with the news, new research has found, with 70 per cent consuming it at least once a day, according to a new report. Ciara O’Brien has the story.

Dublin City Council has received more than 70 objections to plans by Ardstone for a new €300 million apartment scheme near Milltown in south Dublin. Gordon Deegan has the details.

Energy technology company SuperNode is investing more than €40 million in a new research initiative to develop renewable energy transmission technology. Ciara reports.

In Commercial Property, Ronald Quinlan reports on the sale of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dundalk, while BNP Paribas Real Estate’s Kenneth Rouse warns something has to give to kick-start a moribund Dublin office market.

Finally, Bannon’s head of office and capital markets Rod Nowlan sees a rebound in the retail property market.

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