Vol. 479 No. 1
16 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Finance if he will exempt credit unions from paying stamp duty on premises purchased for the use of credit union offices, particularly in view of this unnecessary and burdensome expense at the establishment stage of the credit union. [12382/97]
In general, stamp duties are payable on documents such as deeds transferring property in order for the documents to have legal standing. The yield to the Exchequer from stamp duty on property was over £190 million in 1996. This revenue plays a very important role in shifting some of the burden of taxation from employment and it also makes a significant contribution towards the cost of implementing the Government's social and economic programme.
The introduction of an exemption from stamp duty for property purchases by credit unions would reduce the yield from stamp duty and could be expected to lead to calls for similar exemption in respect of other organisations such as voluntary groups, sports clubs, trade unions, etc. Accordingly, I do not favour granting such an exemption and I have no plans to exempt credit unions from paying stamp duty on property transfers.
