Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

I will do my best.

Sections 57 and 58 modify CGT retirement relief to encourage timely transfers of farms and businesses.

Sections 59 and 61 provide for CGT exemptions for State bodies, namely Teagasc, local government corporate service bodies, the Grangegorman Development Agency, and disposals by the Dublin Institute of Technology to the Grangegorman Development Agency.

Section 60 provides that compensation for giving up the right to cut turf in special areas of conservation will be exempt from CGT.

Section 62 gives effect to the property incentive announced in the budget, under which property purchased up to the end of 2013 and retained for at least seven years will be relieved from capital gains tax on the part of the gain attributable to the initial seven-year holding period.

Section 63 closes off two avoidance schemes involving offshore trusts, whereby individuals have become temporarily non-resident or were temporarily removed and then reinstated as trust beneficiaries to avoid a CGT liability.

Sections 64, 66, 69 and 70 give effect to the increases from €15 to €20 per tonne in the carbon tax announced in the budget. The increases took effect from midnight on 7 December for auto-fuels and will take effect for all other mineral oils and natural gas from 1 May next. The Bill includes a provision for a partial relief from the carbon tax for certain combined heat and power installations not covered by the EU emissions trading scheme.

Section 65 relates to the budget increase in the rates of tobacco products tax which, when VAT is included, amount to 25 cent on a packet of 20 cigarettes with pro rata increases on other tobacco products. The increase, which came into effect on budget night, is estimated to raise €41 million in 2012.

Section 66 introduces measures to support enforcement work by facilitating monitoring and supervision of the oils supply chain. A new licensing requirement will apply to dealers in marked fuels, putting them on the same footing as persons who deal in auto-fuels.

Sections 67 and 68 are both technical, linked to a modernisation of excise law currently being drawn up by Revenue in the form of the excise consolidation Bill.

Section 71 relates to the export refund scheme which will allow for a refund of VRT contained in a vehicle on the permanent export of the vehicle. This will benefit the industry by restoring balance to the sector in the context of the number of imported cars.

Section 72 is an interpretation section. Section 73 provides for the strengthening of VAT ministerial orders following advice from the Office of the Attorney General. In conjunction with sections 79, 80 and 81, it also provides a mechanism to recover VAT and impose interest and penalties where VAT has been improperly claimed and refunded under any VAT refund order. This is an anti-avoidance measure.

Section 74 and section 78 make a number of changes to the VAT rules regarding property. Section 75 gives effect to the budget increase in the standard rate of VAT from 21% to 23% from 1 January 2012.

Section 76 removes a provision that allows a travel agent margin scheme operator to issue travellers with a VAT receipt for conference accommodation, as it is contrary to the EU VAT directive and is not used in practice. This will not affect the deductibility for conference accommodation where the accommodation is supplied under the normal VAT system.

Section 77 ensures the current general six-year requirement to keep records and underlying documentation, which exists for all other taxpayers, will also apply to companies in liquidation and companies that are dissolved.

Section 82 revises the definition of bread for the purposes of the application of the zero rate of VAT to reflect the breads currently available on the market, taking account of the development of bread for health, ethnic and other reasons. Section 83 reduces the VAT rate applicable to district heating to 13.5% with effect from 1 March 2012. It also brings the rate of VAT on admissions to open farms down to a reduced rate of 9% consistent with the application of this rate to the tourist industry last year.

Section 84 is an interpretative section. Section 85 provides for the introduction of a single stamp duty rate of 2% on transfers of non-residential property, including commercial and industrial property and farm land. The section also provides for the abolition of consanguinity relief with effect from 1 January 2015. The reduction in the stamp duty rate, together with the capital gains tax property incentive referred to earlier, will facilitate a recovery in the commercial property market. Sections 86 to 90, inclusive, provide for a number of exemptions and reliefs from stamp duty. These include an exemption for the Grangegorman Development Agency, relief from stamp duty for mergers of Irish public limited companies and for cross-Border company mergers and several other technical changes. In particular, Section 88 contains nine separate technical stamp duty amendments that extend the range and scope of stamp duty exemptions applying to certain financial transactions and confirms the stamp duty treatment of options over shares.

Section 91 gives effect to the new rates of the health insurance levy for 2012 of €285 for individuals aged 18 years or over and €95 for individuals aged under 18 years. Section 92 adds a course to the qualifying courses for stamp duty relief for young trained farmers. The same course has been added to the list of courses for stock relief for young trained farmers. Section 93 modernises the administration of stamp duty and puts it on a self-assessment footing in common with other taxes.

Part 5 deals with capital acquisitions tax. Section 94 is an interpretative section. Section 95 provides for the capital acquisitions tax, CAT, changes announced in the budget, including the increase in the rate from 25% to 30% and the reduction in the group A tax-free threshold for gifts and inheritances between parents and children to €250,000. The section also provides for the breaking of the link between the tax-free thresholds and the consumer price index. Section 96 and section 101 make several technical changes to the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act. Sections 97, 98 and 100 contain various anti-avoidance provisions. Section 99 relates to the exemption from capital acquisitions tax on the gift or inheritance of heritage property where the property is sold to certain State bodies. The list of such bodies is being updated to cover cultural institutions funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Section 102 moves the pay-and-file date for CAT from 30 September to 31 October in response to concerns about the payment of CAT for individuals receiving an inheritance close to the filing date.

Part 6, the final part of the Bill, covers miscellaneous provisions. Section 103 is an interpretation provision. Section 104 amends section 886 of the Taxes Consolidation Act to ensure that the current general six-year requirement to keep records and underlying documents that exists for all other taxpayers will also apply to companies in liquidation and companies that are dissolved. Section 105 modifies the provision introduced by section 77 of Finance Act 2011 relating to exchange of information and taxpayer confidentiality.

Section 106 amends the legislation on the automatic reporting by investment undertakings to provide for the automatic annual reporting of values rather than payments. Section 107 will require merchant acquirers and third-party payment processors to make regular automatic returns to Revenue of all amounts credited to traders. This is in response to emerging evidence that some businesses may be under-reporting card payment transactions. Section 108 ends a temporary exemption for certain interest payments under the EU savings directive, which provides for the reporting of payments by financial institutions in one EU member state of interest payments made to residents of another member state. Section 109 extends section 1077E of the Taxes Consolidation Act, which provides for penalties for deliberately or carelessly making incorrect returns to cover returns required in respect of the domicile levy and the universal social charge. Section 110 introduces a provision whereby the collector general may require a tax defaulter who does not engage effectively with the collector to complete a statutory statement of affairs. Failure to do so will be a Revenue offence.

Section 111 will enable the Revenue to require a taxpayer who has had a significant previous tax default to provide it with a bond covering fiduciary taxes. Failure to provide such a bond will render the person liable to a criminal penalty. Section 112 will provide Revenue with powers similar to those contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2011 regarding the provision of documents or information and in respect of privileged legal material. These powers will be available only where the Revenue is investigating serious tax offences. Sections 113 and 114 and schedules 4 and 5 make several administrative changes in respect of assessment and the administration of direct taxes. Section 115 places the long-standing Revenue practice of publishing details of the names and the associated works of artists that qualify for the artists' exemption on a statutory basis.

Section 116 will facilitate the submission of financial statements in electronic format with corporation tax returns via the Revenue On-Line Service, ROS. Section 117 makes provision for amendments to the taxation for civil partnerships. It provides recognition in tax law of legally binding maintenance agreements made on the break-up of a civil partnership and ensures that civil partners whose partnership has broken down but who are still living under the same roof may obtain the same tax treatment as formerly married couples in similar circumstances. Section 118 ceases section 161 of Finance Act 2010. The section gave effect to a voluntary gift scheme for members of the Judiciary and military judges. However, as a consequence of the referendum in October and the subsequent passing of the legislation which relaxed the previous prohibition on the reduction of salaries of the Judiciary this provision is redundant.

Section 119 provides that the Irish citizenship condition for the payment of the domicile levy will be abolished for tax years from 2012 onwards. This means it will not be possible for an individual who would otherwise be subject to the levy to avoid it by renouncing Irish citizenship. Section 120 sets out additions to the list of double taxation agreements, DTAs, and tax information exchange agreements, TIEAs, between Ireland and other jurisdictions. Following the enactment of this Bill, Ireland will have concluded DTAs with 65 countries and TIEAs with 19 countries. Negotiations to conclude several other agreements are ongoing. Section 121 addresses miscellaneous technical amendments in respect of tax. Sections 122 to 124, inclusive, cover standard annual provisions.

At this stage, a small number of matters remain under consideration for inclusion in the Bill which I may bring forward on Committee Stage and Report Stage. Naturally, I will also give consideration to any constructive suggestions put forward during the debate tomorrow and on Thursday.

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