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

This should help with transport costs across the country.

This is an interim measure pending the replacement of the current commercial motor tax regime with a fairer basis for calculating commercial motor tax, which will be based on the gross design vehicle weight of the goods vehicles.

Film relief

Ireland has a significant opportunity as a location for the production of films and television programmes. Having reviewed the film tax credit, I am increasing the cap on the eligible expenditure to €70 million. This limit will be kept under review going forward. It is my hope that the industry will now make the necessary investments in studio space in order to attract high quality films and create new jobs. This change is subject to state aid approval.

Fostering innovation

As I have outlined, fostering innovation in Ireland will be critical to our new economic model. To incentivise substantive research and development and innovation, as committed to last year, I will introduce in the Finance Bill a knowledge development box, KDB. This will be the first OECD-compliant KDB in the world. This puts Ireland in a unique position to offer long-term certainty to innovative industries planning their research and development investments.

Income that qualifies for the KDB will be subject to a reduced rate of corporation tax of 6.25%. The KDB adds a further dimension to our "best in class" competitive corporation tax offering, which includes the 12.5% headline rate; the research and development tax credit; and the intangible asset regime. This significant enhancement to our corporation tax regime shows Ireland’s ability to retain our core strengths, while keeping a keen competitive edge in attracting and retaining quality jobs and investment in our country.

International tax strategy

Today I am publishing an update on our international tax strategy. This update explains our approach to the implementation of the OECD base erosion and profit shifting reports and how we will engage with the emerging EU tax agenda. Ireland is well positioned to compete in this international environment. Our corporation tax system is transparent and statute based. Our long-standing policy has been to align our tax system with substantial economic activity, investment and jobs. To enhance transparency, we will provide in the Finance Bill for the introduction of country by country reporting, in line with the OECD recommendations.

Independent review of marine taxation supports

The budget book contains details of various reviews. This includes the independent review of marine taxation supports that I am publishing today and my officials will be examining the proposals in conjunction with the relevant Departments, with a view to establishing the feasibility of their implementation in future budgets and in the forthcoming Finance Bill.

Employment and investment incentive scheme

I announced changes to the employment and investment incentive scheme last year subject to compliance with European state aid provisions. The changes I am making ensure this compliance, so with effect from midnight tonight, the amount of finance that can be raised by a company is doubled to €5 million annually subject to a lifetime maximum of €15 million, up from €10 million. The scheme is also being improved by allowing investments in the extension, management and operation of nursing homes, and all eligible small and medium-sized enterprises can qualify for the scheme irrespective of geographical location.

Increasing the supply of residential housing

It is clear that there is a market failure in the provision of new housing across the country but particularly in Dublin. Driven by demographic demands and strong economic growth, there is a requirement for a minimum of 10,000 new units per annum in the Dublin area but the market only delivered 3,300 units in the last year. In line with the NAMA Act, I asked the NAMA board to review the residential sites under its control and to estimate what it could deliver on a commercial basis in terms of residential units over the next five years, consistent with NAMA’s mandate to deliver the best financial return to the taxpayer.

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