Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2013
267. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if international investors have to pay capital gains tax on the disposal of property here; and if not, the amount lost to the Exchequer as a result of this exemption. [24255/13]
View answerGains arising from the disposal of property, that is land or buildings situated in this country, are chargeable to capital gains tax, irrespective of whether or not an investor is resident in this country. A relief from capital gains tax was introduced in the Finance Act 2012 in respect of properties, that is land or buildings, situated in Ireland or any EEA State, purchased between 7 December 2011 and 31 December 2013, that are held for at least 7 years. This relief is available to any taxpayer who satisfies the conditions governing the relief. Any gains attributable to that 7-year period will not be liable to capital gains tax when the property in question is ultimately sold. In order to qualify for the relief, any income, profits or gains from the properties must be subject to Irish income tax. In addition, the relief will not apply if arrangements have been put in place whose main purpose or one of whose main purposes is to secure a tax advantage, as defined in Section 546A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, and it can be shown that the relief would be less if such arrangements had not been put in place.
The relief cannot be claimed until properties bought in the incentive period are sold after being owned for at least 7 years. Accordingly, as the incentive period has not expired, it is not possible to estimate the amount of tax lost to the Exchequer as a result of the relief.
