Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 42:

In page 145, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following:“Increasing public awareness of certain income tax reliefs

62.The Minister shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before the Oireachtas a report setting out steps the Revenue intend to take to increase public awareness of certain tax reliefs that may be claimed including tax relief on third level fees, the home carer tax credit and the income exemption limit for persons aged 65 and over, and to increase public awareness of the four year time limit for claiming reliefs retrospectively.”.

This amendment essentially seeks confirmation of the steps that Revenue in particular intends to take and that the Minister's Department can take to raise public awareness of certain tax reliefs available to citizens. My tabling of this amendment is very much borne out of my personal experience as a Deputy dealing with queries from constituents. When I raise and promote certain tax reliefs in newsletters and circulars that I send out, I get feedback, and it has become very apparent to me that there is a lot of underclaiming going on in that many people are simply not aware of some of the available credits.

For example, one of three I have cited in the amendment is the tax relief on third level fees. It is widely misunderstood. People think that if they are only paying the €3,000, there is no tax relief. This is true if they are only paying it in respect of one child. If they are paying the €3,000 in respect of more than one child going to college, they can claim tax relief because a single disregard of €3,000 applies. This is not widely known. I have personally helped a number of people to work their way through this and they have benefited by way of a claim.

The home carer tax credit, which we discussed in the lead-up to the budget, is a similar issue. We welcome the increase to €1,500 to this credit. Again, it is my experience that there is underclaiming of this simply because people are not aware of it. We went through the numbers on Committee Stage as to why this may be.

The third example I have given in the amendment is the taxation options open to older people on the income tax side. They can be taxed in three ways. First, they can be taxed under the conventional system that applies to everyone else, with the application of bands and tax credits. The second way is the income tax exemption limit - €18,000 for a single person and €36,000 for a couple - that applies to people aged 65 and under. The third way is the marginal rate relief if their income is modestly above these thresholds. Again, my experience is that people are not aware of this and it is very hard for people to try to assess for themselves which option is best for them.

The system should pick up these things automatically, and I think in many cases it does, but not in all. It is my experience that these three reliefs in particular - there are other examples - are not being claimed or not being claimed properly because people are simply not aware of them or of the full eligibility criteria. We all need to make a greater effort. We have a role as Deputies, but Government and Revenue in particular need to play the lead role in increasing public awareness of the availability of these reliefs and how they can be claimed.

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