Results 4,721-4,740 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Yield (19 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: My Department issues official taxation forecasts twice a year, firstly as part of the annual Budget, which is published in October each year and then updated, if necessary, in the Stability Programme Update (SPU) in April of the following year. Therefore, the next official forecast for 2016 in respect of corporation tax will be contained in the 2016 SPU. As part of the SPU...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Pension Provisions (19 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: In Finance Act 2013, I rescinded the Finance Act 2011 changes to the specified or guaranteed pension income requirement for Approved Retirement Fund access which had increased that income requirement from €12,700 to a variable limit based on 1.5 times the State Pension (Contributory) which amounted to €18,000 per annum. At the same time, I also rescinded the Finance Act 2011...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry (19 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: The liquidation of an insurance company is a legally complex process. Setanta is a Maltese incorporated company and, therefore, the Setanta liquidation is being carried out under Maltese law. Progress in the liquidation of Setanta Insurance has been awaiting the outcome of legal proceedings in the case of the Law Society of Ireland versus the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland (MIBI). On 4...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: European Central Bank (19 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) assigns responsibility for monetary policy to the European System of Central Banks (the ECB and national central banks).  Article 127 of the TFEU provides that the "primary objective of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) shall be to maintain price stability".  This article goes on to say that "without prejudice to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Universal Social Charge Exemptions (19 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the estimated first and full year cost of increasing the USC (Universal Social Charge) exemption threshold from €13,000 to €80,000 is in the order of €1,584 million and €2,148 million respectively.  This costing assumes that the current USC rates and bands as set out in Budget 2016 remain in place for those...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Debt Collection (19 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by Revenue that its clear preference is to always engage directly with taxpayers and businesses that are experiencing temporary cash-flow difficulties rather than deploying debt collection/enforcement sanctions. However, any such engagement is predicated on open and honest discussion by the taxpayer/business, including a willingness to identify and agree a mutually...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Offices (19 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: This issue has already been discussed in this House at Estimates time last year. My Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform share the office space in the South Block of Government Buildings. In 2014 the Office of Public Works (OPW) conducted an investigation of the Building and concluded that a full electrical rewiring and upgrade of the fire systems...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Tax Exemptions (19 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: Section 13 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) sets out how residential properties are to be valued for Local Property Tax (LPT) purposes. The current valuation date of 1 May 2013 is now valid until 31 October 2019 on foot of a recent legislative amendment (Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2015). The declared valuation is not affected by any repairs or...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Staff Promotions (19 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: I wish to inform the Deputy that since the implementation of the Cross Stream Promotion arrangements a number of staff at Clerical Officer and Executive Officer level in my Department have participated in various competitions which were advertised internally. However, to date, none have been successful. All competitions run by my Department adhere to the Commission for Public...

Other Questions: NAMA Operations (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: NAMA expects that its deleveraging work will be completed by 2018. Its focus over the period from 2018 to 2020 will be on the completion of the docklands residential funding programme. As I have said, NAMA is in a position to fully pay all of its senior bonds. It also expects to pay its subordinate debt in full by 2020. In light of the extensive work and challenges that face NAMA over the...

Other Questions: Tax Compliance (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: In June 2014, the competition directorate of the European Commission announced its intention to open formal state aid investigations into tax rulings provided by a number of companies in various member states of the European Union.  This announcement is part of a much wider review of tax ruling practice that is currently being undertaken by the European Commission. In late 2014, the...

Other Questions: Tax Compliance (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: The dogs on the street that the Deputy calls as his witnesses have never been renowned as great tax advisers. I suggest that he needs to base his argument on stronger evidence. The position is that the EU Commission and the competition authorities in Europe have challenged the tax treatment of Apple by the Irish Revenue Commissioners and the Irish authorities on state aid grounds. There is...

Other Questions: Tax Compliance (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: What the Deputy has outlined is not the basis of a state aid case. State aid cases always have at their centre the contention that one company or one set of companies was treated more favourably than another company or set of companies involved in similar activity. That is the essential piece.

Other Questions: Tax Compliance (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: It is not about how taxes are applied. The matter I have set out is at the core of what is being examined.

Other Questions: Tax Compliance (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: We will co-operate fully with the authorities in Europe. We will provide them with all the information they have requested. We will await their adjudication. Then we will see what the next step will be.

Other Questions: Economic Growth Initiatives (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: We can attempt to measure the effect of QE. In the October 2014 budget, the growth estimate for 2015 was 4%. We put some money back into the economy, which increased demand in the domestic economy and drove the 4% higher. In 2015, two tail winds occurred which had not been accounted for in the budget. One of these was QE. Although I had campaigned for it for three years, I did not expect...

Other Questions: Economic Growth Initiatives (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: It is a matter of monetary policy, and while I have much control over fiscal policy through the budget, monetary policy is for the ECB and the national central banks. Monetary policy is for the new banking union, driven by the people in Frankfurt. I advocated QE when it was very unpopular to do so in Europe. I campaigned for it for approximately three years and, eventually, a majority...

Other Questions: NAMA Operations (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: I thank the Deputy for this very important question. Yesterday, I signed off on the most recent quarterly report for NAMA to go to the Government next week. We will publish it immediately after that, providing a very full update on the quarterly position with reflections back on the annual position. Under section 10 of the NAMA Act 2009, NAMA's principal commercial objective is to...

Other Questions: NAMA Operations (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: There are three points to be made. When the chairman of NAMA, Mr. Frank Daly, spoke at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, he said that subject to market conditions remaining favourable, NAMA "will have generated a surplus of the order of €2 billion to hand over to the Exchequer". That has been confirmed by the chairman. There was market...

Other Questions: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (14 Jan 2016)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy will be aware that Central Bank residential mortgage arrears data published last month indicate that the level of mortgages in arrears continues to decline and has done so for the past nine consecutive quarters.  It is particularly welcome that the latest bulletin reported that all maturity categories of arrears, including the over 720 days' category, declined in quarter three...