Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

On the issue of ICAV, I make the point, though it is rarely a popular one, that we should aim for an investment environment that is somewhat stable. We should have had this provision in place before all the funds were invested in Ireland. Whether it was in 2011 or whenever, we should have had the foresight to have it in place. The ICAV legislation was signed into law as recently as early last year. I make that as an overall point. I support the withholding tax and the taxation of funds in this way. However, I believe we should aim to have a taxation system and investment environment that is stable and consistent, because reputational issues are involved as well. It should have been there years ago. I am not making the point that the legislation should not be enacted - it should - but, it would have been preferable to have had it in law before these decisions were made.

I wish to clarify a few points with the Minister of State. The 20% withholding tax applies to distributions from IREFs. Can the Minister of State clarify for me the nature of these distributions? Are we talking about dividend payments? What are the triggers for the 20% coming into play?