Turning the housing crisis into a catastrophe.

A home should be a place where you feel safe. Where the troubles of the world are outside your front door and once that is locked, they are out of sight for another day. Some people stay in the same house for their whole life while others chop and change their foundations just so they can have a change of scenery every once in a while. Regardless of whether you stay or go, having a house is something that belongs to you and if you choose to sell it, you should receive all of the money from the sale. However, if this proposal is passed, it would mean that 33% of any gain made from the sale of a house would be taxed. According to the Irish Independent, proposals made by officials in the Department of Finance, ahead of the Budget, would see this come into effect which has been described as "bonkers." As it stands, gains of a property sale which is owned by you, such as a house or apartment, which was occupied by yourself or a dependent relative as a sole or main residence are exempt, something which will change if the proposed law is changed. It will affect all walks of life, from those who want to upgrade into a bigger home to those who want to downsize, there will be no avoiding it. Fianna Fáil's finance spokesman, Michael McGrath has said that his party would not support any move to tax family homes when they are sold, stating that such a move would make our housing crisis worse.