O Brien can't avoid stamp duty

There are times when Irish nationals who are tax non-residents do have to pay tax in Ireland.

Denis O'Brien will not be able to avoid paying stamp duty of about €2.7 million on his purchase of a Dublin 4 house for nearly €30 million (and not, according to usually reliable sources, the €35 million widely quoted, although at such prices who'll notice the difference?)

Even those passport holders who spend less than 183 days a year in the country have to pay tax when transactions involving land take place.

So the man who didn't pay capital gains tax of €55 million on his windfall from the sale of shares in Esat – because the house he owned in Dublin 4 didn't have a kitchen, thereby meaning it was not habitable and could not have been his residence – has to pay this tax.

O'Brien's stamp duty bill can be covered by his dividends from Independent News and Media. His recently purchased 22 million shares. This were bought too late to benefit from the interim dividend paid on 2005 profits but they each is due a seven cent payment from IN&M. That's a payment of just €1.54 million. Not enough to cover the stamp duty, but it'll make a hefty and timely dent.