Ireland may seek to become an international hub for property services, according to John Moran, the most senior official in the Department of Finance.
The government is setting up a real-estate investment trust (REIT) regime this year, a Bloomberg report said. Dublin could establish itself as a property services center, similar to it position as a global leader in aviation finance and funds administration, Moran said at an event in the city today.
Ireland will seek to push the issue of creating tax efficient cross-border REIT structures that avoid double taxation, he said. The government will first focus on the introduction of REITs covering domestic property, as the National Asset Management Agency and banks seek to dispose of assets.
“We see this as producing a way for the Irish obsession with property, historically so individualised, to be more professionalised,” Moran said.
He ruled out Ireland an introduction of residential mortgage REITs, as securitisation and asset-covered bond programs are preferred methods for packaging home loans.
