The Labour Party has welcomed Fine Gael's changes to personal taxation and stamp duty. However, the Progressive Democrats have dismissed the stamp duty proposals as "belated and limp".
A Labour spokesman said last night: "We welcome these proposals from Fine Gael which are largely in line with our thinking on these issues. We are currently engaged in discussions with Fine Gael on general economic issues, and we hope to publish an agreed paper on these in the near future."
However the stamp duty proposals were dismissed as "too little, too late" by PSenator John Minihan, who is running for the Dáil in Cork South Central.
Claiming the main Opposition party had copied the PD idea of "banding" stamp duty rates, he said Fine Gael had baulked at completely abolishing the tax for first-time buyers by setting an exemption limit of €450,000.
"Our party sparked a nationwide debate on stamp duty following our 'think-in' in Malahide [ last September], when we promised to tackle this issue on behalf of home-buyers. Fine Gael had nothing to say about the matter then, and now they are offering a belated and limp effort."
Mr Minihan said Fine Gael's Enda Kenny and Richard Bruton, as well as Labour's Pat Rabbitte and Ruairí Quinn, were all at cabinet when the current "very unfair" system of stamp duty was increased. "It's too little, too late from the people who made stamp duty so unfair. Has Enda Kenny checked that Pat Rabbitte and Trevor Sargent will let him do this, never mind Joe Higgins?"
