STAMP DUTY ON homes bulk-purchased by vulture funds should be doubled from 10% to 20% in the upcoming budget, Fine Gael Junior Minister in the Department of Finance Neale Richmond has said. 

The proposal comes just over three weeks before the budget is due to be announced.

Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week this afternoon, Richmond told host Justin McCarthy that he was yet to meet with Finance Minister Jack Chambers to discuss the proposal and the possibility of its inclusion in the upcoming budget. 

In January of this year, the government opposed a Sinn Fein motion to increase such stamp duty on so-called vulture funds by 17%, after then-Minister for Finance Michael McGrath received agreement from Cabinet to counter the motion. 

When asked this afternoon if Fine Gael were dressing a Sinn Féin motion as its own, Richmond insisted that “things have changed”, and that the current 10% stamp duty isn’t going far enough to discourage the bulk-buying of homes by vulture funds. 

“This is about is delivering more homes for Irish people to own. We have done so much good work, all of us – Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and Greens, about delivering more housing.

“Housing completions are going up massive amount, but we need to make sure that those homes are going to Irish people to own themselves. We are a party that actually believes people can not only own their home, but also own the land under it, unlike other parties,” Richmond said. 

Currently, the standard rates of stamp duty on residential property are 1% on values up to €1 million and 2% on values exceeding €1 million.

A higher 10% rate of duty comes in when someone acquires at least 10 properties during any 12-month period.

In May 2021 the government introduced a 10% stamp duty on the bulk purchase of family homes by investment funds. 

However, in July 2021, the Government passed a controversial amendment to allow funds to side-step the 10% stamp duty if they lease back homes to the State for social housing. 

Richmond would not reveal whether his party leader and Taoiseach Simon Harris fully supported his call for the doubling of the stamp duty, though Harris had previously written to Michael McGrath requesting “a full review” on the effectiveness of the current rate of 10%.

With reporting by Christina Finn.