Will commercial property hike pay off?

Government argues low rate has done its job, but property sector sceptical on revenue estimates

Finance minister Paschal Donohoe’s decision to lift stamp duty on commercial property deals from 2 per cent to 6 per cent has, not surprisingly, attracted much comment from the sector.

While many in the industry arewarning against potential negative consequences, the response could be described as measured, even muted – perhaps due to an acceptance that arguments against taking more money from multimillion euro property sales are unlikely to get much of a ...