A bill to spur house and condo purchases and stimulate construction has passed the House of Assembly — but Opposition MPs condemned the “tax break” for wealthy buyers.However, Finance Minister Bob Richards said Bermuda’s only hope of restarting its economy was to draw in capital from outside.“We had a licence fee of 25 percent that virtually choked off inward direct investment,” Mr Richards said, telling the Opposition: “They just don’t get it.”The new land holding charges would cut fees for 18 months before bringing them up to considerably lower fees — depending on whether a condo or a house were being purchased by a non-Bermudian or Permanent Residence Certificate holder.Deputy Premier Michael Dunkley tabled the bill on behalf of Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy, extolling the amendments as “a jobs programme, pure and simple”.In anticipation of the new fees, the real estate sector was already reporting renewed interest at the upper end of the market, the Public Safety Minister said — and construction work would be boosted by renovations to newly-purchased properties.Conceding some approval for the motive of the Bill, Shadow Home Affairs Minister Walter Roban replied that the Opposition would have preferred to see licence fees restored to their original 25 percent of the land value after the 18-month window.Sharply denouncing the “tax concession for the wealthy”, Pembroke Central MP Walton Brown said the Bill could breach laws limiting the amount of foreign-owned land on the Island.Mr Brown was backed by Hamilton East MP Derrick Burgess, who demanded to know how much of the Island was owned by non-Bermudians, and what Government intended to do to cap it.Shadow Finance Minister David Burt observed: “This is a tax break, and a long term tax break. I do not know the reason why, and I’m not going to speculate.”Sandys South Central MP Kim Wilson agreed, also querying how construction workers could really benefit from the licence fee break.Mr Richards shot back: “No small wonder they couldn’t turn this economy around.”Claiming Government would “school up” the Opposition on economics, Mr Dunkley said: “On your record, you should support what we’re doing.”However, Mr Dunkley said the Island’s land registry was currently being updated — and said figures detailing land ownership would be online “within months”.