Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Part 5 deals with capital acquisitions tax, CAT. Section 81 is an interpretation section. Section 82 provides for the CAT changes announced in the budget, bringing the increase in the rate from 30% to 33% and the 10% reduction in the group tax free thresholds.

Section 83 confirms the position that interest on outstanding discretionary trust tax, DTT, arises from the valuation date of the initial once-off charge to DTT and from the valuation date of the annual charges.

Section 84 provides that a claim for a repayment of discretionary trust tax must be made within four years of the valuation date or the date of the payment of the tax, where the tax has been paid within four months of the valuation date. The amendment also provides that a claim for repayment of any payment made on account of tax is also subject to the four-year claim limitation period.

Section 85 extends an existing exemption from CAT to assurance policies known as capital redemption policies issued by life assurance companies where the disponer and the donee or successor are both non-domiciled and non-resident in the State. Section 86 relates to section 40 in respect of amendments to the taxation of investment limited partnerships. It provides that an existing exemption from capital acquisitions tax on certain transfers of units in investment limited partnerships will continue to apply following other legislative changes. Section 87 extends an inheritance tax exemption on inheritances taken by a child over the age of 21 from an approved retirement fund or from an approved minimum retirement fund to similar inheritances from a vested personal retirement savings account.

Part 6, the final part of the Bill, covers miscellaneous provisions. Section 88 is an interpretation provision. Section 89 makes a number of mainly technical amendments to the new streamlined assessing rules for direct taxes, that is, income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax, that were introduced in Part 41A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 by the Finance Act 2012. Changes are also made to clarify the operation of various provisions. In addition, this section makes technical changes in certain provisions outside of Part 41A.

Section 90 amends Schedule 13 to the TCA in order to update the list of accountable persons who are obliged to operate professional services withholding tax, PSWT. The section also clarifies the position regarding the treatment of partnerships for PSWT purposes and a number of minor technical amendments are made. Section 91 amends sections 1094 and 1095 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. This will require an applicant for a tax clearance certificate to be compliant in relation to stamp duty and capital acquisitions tax in addition to the existing taxes currently included in the legislation.

Section 92 amends sections 879, 880 and 884 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 which set out what is to be included in a return of income by an individual, a partnership return and the corporation tax return of a company, respectively. The amendment is to facilitate the submission of electronic accounts information with those returns via the Revenue online service, ROS. With regard to the corporation tax return the amendment sets out the financial information which is to be submitted with the return by a non-resident company trading in the State through a branch or agency. This is also to support the e-filing on ROS of this information by the company.

Section 93 amends section 960E of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The amendment provides that the Collector General may issue a demand by electronic means to a person who is registered to deliver a return and pay tax under the Revenue online system, ROS, and a person who is required to deliver a return and pay tax via ROS.

Section 94 amends sections 811, 811A and 817D of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 which are concerned with general anti-avoidance, protective notifications and mandatory disclosure of certain transactions, respectively. The main change is to section 811A which is amended to delete subsection (1C) so as to ensure that the same "burden of proof" applies in determining whether a transaction is a tax avoidance transaction, regardless of whether a protective notification has been received.

Section 95 provides for the deletion of section 886(4)(b) of the Taxes Consolidation Act in order to ensure that this country can continue to meet its international obligations in regard to the exchange of information with other tax administrations. Section 96 amends sections 826(7) and 912A which relate to the exchange of information under the Joint Council of Europe-OECD Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters as well as the protocol to that convention.

Section 97 makes a number of amendments relating to tax arising from the enactment of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012. Section 98 provides that Revenue may authorise a suitably-qualified person to inspect any asset in order to establish its value for tax purposes. Section 99 ensures that persons other than Revenue officers engaged by Revenue to carry out work relating to the administration of any taxes or duties are subject to the same confidentiality requirements as Revenue officers. It also provides that any person to whom taxpayer information is disclosed in accordance with the section is subject to sanctions if that information is used for any purpose other than that for which it was disclosed.

Section 100 makes provision for various amendments to the tax code as it applies to civil partnerships. Section 101 sets out additions to the list of double taxation agreements, DTAs, and tax information exchange agreements, TIEAs, between this country and other jurisdictions. Finally, section 102 addresses miscellaneous technical amendments in relation to tax, while sections 103,104 and 105 cover standard annual provisions.

At this stage, there are still a small number of matters under consideration for inclusion in the Finance Bill that I may bring forward on Committee Stage. I will, of course, also give consideration to any constructive suggestions put forward during our debate tonight, tomorrow and Thursday.

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