Seán Haughey
Ceist:389 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Finance the reason for the insurance levy; if he will review this in view of the high cost of insurance generally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15386/02]
Written Answers. - Insurance Costs.
The 2% levy, stamp duty, on non-life insurance premiums applies to most categories of non-life insurance business. The exceptions are re-insurance, voluntary health insurance, marine, aviation and transit insurance and export credit insurance.
The levy was introduced to broaden the stamp duty base, thereby raising additional revenue. There are no plans to remove this levy which yielded €69.11 million in 2001.