Madam, - The law that exempts from stamp duty first-time buyers of houses is indeed a laudable idea to help young people who are struggling to finance their first home. In practical terms, however it is of little benefit to the vast majority of those trying to buy a second-hand property in urban areas. This is due to the limit of €317,500 above which second-hand property does not qualify. As anyone looking for a house in Dublin will soon find out, you cannot get even a modest dwelling for less than €317,500.
What makes the system illogical and disingenuous is that, once the price of the house exceeds €317,500 by any amount, no matter how small, people are deemed undeserving of the exemption, and tax at the rate of 3 per cent is charged on every cent of the price of the house. This has to be paid up front and amounts to a tidy lump sum which buyers have to produce before they can even start furnishing their first home. Should the price of the house exceed €381,000 (which happens to be just about the average house value as recently reported by the Central Statistics Office), the rate is doubled to 6 per cent, again on the entire value of the house.
A better system would be to exempt from stamp duty the first €317,500 and then charge duty on the remainder on a sliding scale. The party which will guarantee to refund this overcharged stamp duty and end the needless strain on our young people will certainly get my vote at the next election. - Yours, etc,
ANN MONTWILL,
Kill Abbey,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.