Richard Bruton
Ceist:66 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the cost of restoring interest relief to private landlords. [27375/01]
Written Answers. - Tax Reliefs.
Subject to certain transitional arrangements, section 1 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1998, provided that interest on borrowings used on or after 23 April 1998 in the purchase, improvement or repair of a residential premises could not be offset against rental income in arriving at the taxable rent or allowable loss in respect of that premises. It also applied to interest on borrowings in respect of investment in residential properties outside the State from 7 May 1998. While the cost of reintroducing the relief is difficult to estimate and would be dependent on a number of factors, the cost to the Exchequer in tax foregone on rental income could be in the region £40 million or 50.8 million in a full year.