At the height of the boom the Government was raking in more than €100 million a month in Residential Stamp Duty but since then Stamp Duty takings have dropped by 92% and now the Government would be lucky to see €100 million in the pot for the whole of 2010.
When combined, residential and non-residential stamp duty yields now account for just 0.6% of total tax revenues so it is no surprise that their attention is now once more turning to the possible introduction of a property tax. Property tax would provide a more stable (and hopefully a more reasonable) stream of revenue and allow us to move away from the unreliable transaction tax of Stamp duty.
However this new “fairer” property tax is no... consolation for those who paid the full whack of 9% in the height of the boom and who now have an expensive home and a big mortgage.
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