Results 6,541-6,560 of 32,602 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners (15 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that its public offices remain closed in accordance with public health advice in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the situation is kept under constant review in line with guidance. Revenue has also advised me that its telephone helplines remain operational despite the difficulties encountered from the pandemic. Further details on the opening hours for the full...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (15 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: There is no Local Property Tax (LPT) relief for those paying management or apartment fees under the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended), though such persons may be entitled to an exemption on other grounds or may qualify for a deferral subject to meeting the qualifying conditions. When a person pays a management fee they receive services such as bin collection, maintenance of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (15 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy may be aware, as Minister for Finance I have no role in the commercial decisions made by any bank in the State. This includes banks in which the State has a shareholding. Decisions in this regard, including the management of branch networks, are the sole responsibility of the board and management of the banks, which must be run on an independent and commercial basis. The...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (15 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware the Commission issued its original proposal to amend a Council directive on the common system of value added tax as regards rates of value added tax on 18 January 2018. The compromise text agreed at ECOFIN has been amended significantly in comparison to the original proposal so the EU Parliament will once again be consulted for their opinion. Once the Parliament...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Before I respond to the nature of the recommendation tabled by Senator Higgins, I have a couple of opening points about the State's involvement in the provision of homes. First, it is wrong to suggest that the Government is subcontracting out the need to meet housing needs to the private sector. This year, the State is spending €4.1 billion in either directly building homes itself,...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I fundamentally disagree with the Senator's description of housing policy being dictated by the market. Macro-prudential rules are not being dictated by the market. The State spending €4.1 billion on building homes directly or helping to get them built is not being dictated by the market. Senator Casey spoke about work happening in his community. The work Dublin City Council is...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: We are doing that. That is why we are trying to build more homes. As already stated, the fundamental reason we have house price inflation at these levels is that we are not building enough homes. We need to build more homes and we need to do it more quickly. That is the answer to many of the challenges as regards affordability at the moment. We need to build more homes and, within that,...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: We have already given a commitment to go ahead with a review of the help-to-buy scheme. I indicated that in my statement earlier today and on budget day. The reason I am not accepting the recommendation is that I do not believe the Finance Bill is the right place to make commitments about when and by when reports are to be done. This is legislation. I have given a commitment that I will...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As part of its national structure, Revenue has adopted a large cases-high wealth individuals division. That division is responsible for all taxation matters relating to high wealth individuals, who are currently defined as people with net wealth of €20 million or more. Revenue has also established a medium enterprises division and tax affairs of the next tier of high wealth...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Senator is requesting a comprehensive report on transborder workers' relief. This was discussed during the debate on last year’s Finance Bill, when I undertook that the relief would be examined as part of the work of the TSG process for 2021. I fulfilled this commitment and this relief was examined by that process earlier this year. This issue was also raised with me on...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Senator’s recommendations refer to reports on first, the tapering out of income tax credits at certain incomes and, second, the introduction of a high income levy. First, regarding tapering of income tax credits, there is already a substantial amount of research published on this subject. The income tax reform plan published by my Department in July 2016 examined this issue due...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: There is a fundamental difference here. The two Senators will always see work as something to be taxed at a higher level. They will always see companies, entrepreneurs and innovation as things to get more tax from. They, frankly, ignore the fact that other countries want the innovative companies that are located in Ireland. That is an inescapable fact of having a small, open economy in...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: A person earning €140,000 is already paying a higher average rate of tax. That is already the case. Politicians such as me who believe we have tax structures at the moment that are fair and effective, and that play a role in ensuring those who have more pay more, do a disservice to those beliefs if we do not challenge the views we are hearing from our colleagues here. Let me repeat...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Senator will be aware, this change was proposed in an amendment during Report Stage of the Bill in Dáil Éireann. However, allow me to set out once again why I believe the introduction of such a relief is not appropriate. On Report Stage in the Dáil, Deputy Pearse Doherty noted correctly that relief in respect of rent paid by private tenants was previously available....

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I fully appreciate that we have huge challenges in the rental sector. I understand the anxiety and stress faced by many tenants who find their rents going up and are worried about whether they will have rental accommodation in the future. The Senator makes the case that we have huge difficulties in the rental sector, as we do. At the same time, we are at the point at which "landlord" has...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: A whole variety of issues have been raised in this debate, from the taxation of REITs and IREFs to the issue of taxes on capital raised by Senator McDowell. I will say a word about each of the points I have heard. I will begin with Senator McDowell's point regarding the level of transactions we have in our economy being influenced, in the first place, by the level of tax on those...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Sinn Féin quoted a paper from the Department of Finance. I was discourteous when Senators were speaking because I did not have the report to hand and wanted to get it so I could read out to Sinn Féin the conclusions of the report. I will not have papers from my Department being selectively quoted from to make arguments that the Department and I disagree with. The Senator quotes...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Senator Higgins raised the performance of the large cases division in the Revenue Commissioners. I am committed to coming back to her in the context of the debate. The high-wealth individuals division is dealing with approximately 2,700 high net worth taxpayers. This also includes spouses and related entities. On average, the division carries out between 250 and 300 interventions per...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: It is precisely because of the planetary boundary, as Senator Higgins described it, that the Government decided to go ahead with an increase in carbon taxation. The Government could have done the easy thing. My fellow Ministers in Cabinet and the Deputies who support this Government could have said the price of energy is going up at a time when many families and businesses are facing...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: That is a €20 million scheme.