'Massive handout to already profitable developers' - Leitrim councillor slams apartment VAT cut

A Leitrim councillor has spoken out after the Revenue Commissioners warned a controversial cut in VAT on apartments could lead to fraudulent or inadvertent underpayments of tax by the construction sector.

Speaking to the Leitrim Observer, Cllr Padraig Fallon said the move was "strongly opposed by Sinn Féin at the time and there were a number of reasons for that opposition. It was seen as a massive handout to already profitable developers and investment funds and the fear here was they would absorb the savings into their profit margins rather than passing them on to buyers or increasing affordability."

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In this year's budget, the Government cut the rates to speed up the delivery of housing but records reveal concerns were raised that having different VAT regimes for houses and apartments was risky.

Previously, the Revenue Commissioners said it would be extremely difficult for them to monitor when different tax rates applied to different types of housing and "[It] could lead to accidental or fraudulent underpayments of VAT."

Cllr Fallon continued: "We believe and I believe that this money would have been better used in the provision of public housing by providing that directly through the local authorities and through housing bodies. There was no affordability guarantee; no conditions with this measure linked to price caps or anything like that. We thought it was a waste of money."