Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson, Pearse Doherty has called on the government to amend the tax designation of non resident property funds who hold vast amount of commercial property in Ireland and are exempt from tax on their income here.
Deputy Doherty claims that one such fund, Cedar Real Estate Investments Plc, are paid €2.65 million per annum rent in relation to office space leased to the Central Bank and pay no tax on this income.
According to Doherty, the company is structured as an Alternative Investment Fund that is regulated by the Central Bank and would be classified as an investment undertaking according to Irish tax legislation.
However, Cedar Real Estate Investment Plc is ultimately wholly owned by Starwood Property Trust Inc, an American vulture fund, and as such its owners are not resident in the State. This structure and ownership model allow for it, through Irish tax legislation, to be exempt from tax in the State claims Doherty.
Deputy Doherty commented, "At a time when our ordinary families and squeezed with a cost of living crisis and public services are under resourced, these vulture funds are paying little or no tax, and now we learn the State is paying millions to at least one of them."
He added, "Even more infuriating is that it is the very body that is tasked with regulating these funds, the Central Bank, that is paying them. The State’s policy on vulture funds is going from scandal to farce."
Source: www.businessworld.ie