Vol. 573 No. 5
104 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the total receipts to the Exchequer arising from VAT, stamp duty or other taxes, excluding local development levies, in respect to a dwelling costing ?300,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26001/03]
It is not possible to establish the precise tax receipts arising in respect to a dwelling costing €300,000 as this would be dependent on various factors and assumptions. A number of taxes could apply, especially in the case of a new house. In the case of a new house, VAT applies at the reduced rate of 13.5% on its construction and is included in the final price of the property to the purchaser. No VAT applies in respect of the purchase of a second-hand house.
In the case of stamp duty, there is no stamp duty on the purchase of new residential property for owner-occupiers, including first-time buyers, where the dwelling is not greater than 125 sq. m. If a new dwelling is more than this size, stamp duty is charged on the site value or on one quarter of the full house value, whichever is the greater value, in the case of owner-occupiers, including first-time buyers, at the relevant rates. In the case of investors of new residential property, stamp duty at the rate of 5% is chargeable where the consideration is €300,000.
Regarding the transfer of a second-hand property costing €300,000, a stamp duty rate of 5% applies except for first-time buyers where a reduced stamp duty rate of 3.75% applies. In addition to VAT and stamp duty, tax receipts in the form of income tax or corporation tax would arise on any tax adjusted profits made by the builder in the case of a new house. In addition, PAYE and PRSI would apply in the case of the employees involved in the construction of the house. Where the builder purchased the site from a landowner, both capital gains and stamp duty would also normally apply.
105 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which he intends to address issues arising from budgetary shortfalls in 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26002/03]
Any shortfall in tax receipts this year will mean that the Exchequer will have to borrow more at the end of this year than would otherwise be the case. This situation underlines the need to keep public expenditure within projected limits. This is being achieved and as I stated in my comments on the end-September Exchequer returns, I expect overall expenditure to be broadly on target with any overruns on voted expenditure being offset by savings on non-voted current expenditure.
Question No. 106 answered with Question No. 45.
