September 22, 2006 View all news In the last week the PDs have been advocating the reform of stamp duty paid to the government on the purchase of houses. Friends of the Earth responded with the following which appeared as a letter to the editor in the Irish Times on Wednesday and the Irish Independent on Thursday:"If the Progressive Democrats are serious about significant reform of stamp duty they should propose linking the rate of duty to the energy efficiency rating of the house. Such energy labelling will become mandatory for all houses over the next few years, under EU law. If a better energy rating meant a lower rate of stamp duty, this would provide another incentive to home owners to invest in energy saving measures. Prospective buyers would be attracted not only by the reduced stamp duty payable but also by the knowledge that their future heating bills would be lower." Categorised in: Climate Change Energy