Vol. 560 No. 3
230 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Finance the proposals he has to meet the concerns of Waterford IFA with regard to the abolition (details supplied) of the roll-over relief; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2295/03]
I announced in my budget speech on 4 December 2002 that no roll-over relief would be allowed for any purpose for disposals on and from that date. This change, along with certain other restrictions of and abolition of certain tax reliefs or incentives announced in the budget, has to be viewed in the context of keeping direct tax rates low while widening the tax base.
The current rate of capital gains tax is now only 20% in contrast to a rate of 40% in 1997 and to even higher rates in the 1980s.
