Law Society of Ireland

Lobbying Organisation Law Society of Ireland

Date published 20 Jan, 2017

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area Taxation

Period 1 Sep, 2016 to 31 Dec, 2016

Specific Details Reforms in Capital Acquisitions Tax policy and thresholds

Intended results The Society submitted a proposal for legislative change to provide greater clarity and equality for the transfer of property between qualifying cohabitants and a proposal to amend the CAT thresholds in this regard

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Ken Murphy, Director General

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Letter (1)

Currently, qualifying cohabitants under the Civil Partnership Act 2010, cannot transfer property inter vivos from the sole name of one cohabitant into the joint names of both without incurring a very significant liability to CAT In addition, where a qualified cohabitant makes provision by will for a surviving cohabitant, any such provision is taxed at Group C threshold for CAT. But should a cohabitant fail utterly to provide for a surviving cohabitant, any application under Section 194 of the Civil Partnership Act 2010 will pass free from CAT. The Society submits that if a measure of CAT relief, similar to Group A (recognizing the enhanced status under the 2010 Act), the number of Section 194 Applications would reduce, leading quicker resolution of estates, and to improved resource allocation in the Courts Service.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Michael Noonan Minister (Department of Finance)