Comments on: Minister confirms private, lakes, woodland, gardens over 1 acre NOT included in property tax – “phew!” says a certain health minister.

By: OMF

OMF — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:54:15 +0000

This property tax is now a bad joke. It is clear that it is not a traditional “wealth tax” in any way shape or form. In every facet and form it is an extra income tax on PAYE workers. Nothing more.

We should have just raised the income tax rates altogether.

By: otto

otto — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:05:38 +0000

As said before, it’s a building/residence tax, not a woodland/garden tax so the exclusion makes sense. After all if you just own the woodland/garden but no house, there’s no tax.

By: namawinelake

namawinelake — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:57:28 +0000

@Niall, this was billed as a dependable recurring tax which wouldn’t be affected by transactions or income. If that is really the case, then the entire property inclusive of all of its amenity land – and there should only be a few hundred properties in the State that this applies to, I suppose Lissadell which is in the Supreme Court over rights of way at present would be another example – will be taxed. Waiting for trusts to dance around inheritance etc is just a perversion when this tax is going to hit the most modest of properties in the State.

By: Niall

Niall — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:53:26 +0000

@ NWL This is a standard Revenue definition of a Principal Private residence and would for example apply to Capital Gains Tax.

If a person sold a house with say ten acres of gardens, the PPR exemption would apply to just the house and one acre of the gardens with the balance being liable to CGT.

This is nothing new, see page 15 of the Revenue’s CGT guide http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/cgt/leaflets/cgt1.pdf