Vol. 510 No. 4
167 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the stately homes which have been determined by her as entitled to claim tax relief under section 482 of the Tax Consolidation Act, 1997; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22778/99]
Determinations which I make under section 482 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, are confined to determining the intrinsic scientific, historical, architectural or aesthetic interest of a building, and do not purport to determine the entitlement or otherwise of owners-occupiers to claim tax relief under the Act.
The position is that the owner or occupier of a building which is determined by me to be a building which is intrinsically of significant scientific, historical, architectural, or aesthetic interest, and which is determined by the Revenue Commissioners to be a building to which reasonable access is afforded to the public, can apply under section 482 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, for relief for expenditure incurred in the repair, maintenance or restoration of the building. Ultimately, the decision to allow tax relief in respect of an approved building is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners.
Since I became Minister in June 1997, I have made determinations in respect of 62 buildings for the purposes of section 482 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997. However, it would not be appropriate to disclose information regarding these determinations because the position is that applicants to me may subsequently have decided not to proceed with seeking a separate determination from the Revenue Commissioners in respect of reasonable public access, or indeed may have been refused a determination in respect of reasonable public access by the Revenue Commissioners. In either of these situations, the owner-occupier of the building would not be entitled to claim tax relief under section 482 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997.
