Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 20:

In page 221, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following:

137.--The Minister shall within 12 month from the passing of this Act prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the contribution made to the Exchequer by the domicile levy and in particular the contribution in that regard as a result of the measures introduced in this section by the Finance Act 2012.".

As the Minister knows, the former Minister for Finance, the late Brian Lenihan, introduced the domicile levy. It is fair to say that the yield from it has been disappointing, to say the least, with only €1.5 million collected on foot of the levy last year, paid by just ten individuals. I welcome the change to the operation of the levy as proposed by the Minister in the Finance Bill. He is undertaking an overall review of how the levy operates and how the Exchequer can get a fairer contribution from the wealthiest in our society. I welcome the review and look forward to participating in it.

The purpose of my amendment is to seek a report on the operation of the domicile levy. In particular, it seeks to measure the effectiveness of the Minister's proposed changes in the Bill in respect of the tax residency requirement. I support the overall review and the Minister might like to take this opportunity to provide the House with an overview of it.

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