Financial Resolutions, 1978: Financial Statement, Budget, 1978. - Heritage houses
Last year An Taisce published a report which was a plea to the Government to come to the aid of our heritage houses, gardens and collections which are a significant national asset— economic and educational as well as artistic. In particular, the council of An Taisce considered that the new capital taxes had serious implications for these houses and would endanger elements of the country's heritage already under serious pressure.
The Government are sympathetically disposed towards the preservation of heritage houses and do not think that the nation should lightly run the risk of losing valuable and irreplaceable cultural assets. It is true that the changes in capital taxation already announced by me will bring relief but this is less so in the case of capital acquisitions tax. I propose, therefore, to consider how best to draft legislation aimed at relieving these properties of capital acquisitions tax. Questions of definitions will have to be decided and I consider that relief should be contingent on public access being allowed to the properties. It is difficult to estimate what the cost of this concession is likely to be but I am allowing £200,000 in respect of the present year.