Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 30, line 1, after "transfer" to insert ", on one occasion only,".

Amendments Nos. 10 to 12, inclusive, relate to various provisions in section 18 that deal with pensions tax legislation. We had a good discussion on this issue on Committee Stage. As regards amendment No. 10, section 18(2)(b) of the Bill amends the approved minimum retirement fund provisions in the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. This change will allow the beneficial owner of an approved minimum retirement fund to draw down up to 4% of the value of the assets in the fund each year. Before now, the capital invested in the fund - a maximum of €63,500 - was in effect locked in, generally speaking, until the owner reached the age of 75 and only the income, profits or gains arising from the fund could be drawn down. The purpose of amendment No. 10 is to put it beyond any doubt that the option to draw down up to 4% of the approved minimum retirement fund assets can be exercised by the beneficial owner of the fund on one occasion only in a tax year. The intention of the provision to which this amendment is adding clarity has already been agreed on Committee Stage.

Amendment No. 11 corrects a minor drafting error in section 18(4), which deals with the maximum tax relievable pension fund at retirement, known as the standard fund threshold, and its interaction with pension adjustment orders. Amendment No. 12 relates to section 18(5)(b) of the Bill, which inserts a new section 790E into Chapter 4 of Part 30 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The new section is part of the pensions-related anti-avoidance provisions included in the Bill this year. It provides that any investment returns to certain pension arrangements linked to the avoidance scheme in question will be subject to income tax in the hands of the trustees or administrators of the arrangement. The amendment I am now making is a minor technical one to correct a section referencing error in the Bill. The Bill, as published, included a reference to "section 784(A)" where the reference should have been to “section 784A”. In other words, the brackets in the original text should not be there. These three technical amendments will carry out the provisions we approved on Committee Stage. I commend them to the House.

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