Results 22,461-22,480 of 33,175 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: At this point I will signal Report Stage amendments overall, if I may. To date, we have signalled an amendment relating to sections 11,15 and 60. Earlier today I noted a Report Stage amendment when speaking to amendments 158 and 159. I also want to signal the possibility for an amendment relating to section 44. On the matter raised by the Deputy, the issue of wealth taxes has been long...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 173: In page 81, to delete lines 37 to 39, and in page 82, to delete lines 1 and 2 and substitute the following: “(b) In this subsection ‘shares’ includes any legal or equitable interest or right in, or in relation to, a share, whether such interest or right is directly or indirectly held, and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 174: In page 82, to delete lines 21 to 25 and substitute the following: “(b) In this subsection ‘shares’ includes any legal or equitable interest or right in, or in relation to, a share, whether such interest or right is directly or indirectly held, and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, shall be deemed to include— (i)...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 175: In page 82, after line 40, to insert the following: “(5) The Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 is amended in Part 6 by constituting sections 68 to 78 as Chapter 1 of that Part and inserting the following Chapter after that Chapter: “CHAPTER 2 Special provisions relating to dematerialised securities Interpretation (Chapter 2) 78A.(1) In this...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 62 inserts a new section 28C into the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 to provide for the warehousing of temporary wage subsidy overpayments received by employers which must be refunded to Revenue. Section 28 of the Act legislated for the TWSS introduced by the Government to provide financial support to workers affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The scheme...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy's interpretation is correct, but I should state that if a taxpayer is engaging with the Tax Appeals Commission, he or she does not have to pay the tax that is being disputed. However, the Deputy's interpretation is correct.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: That is correct.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: We debated this issue during consideration of the Finance Act 2019 and went through the detail of the matter. I am not in a position to accept the amendment. I will outline the reasons I differ with the Deputy in respect of this policy. I will send him a note between now and Report Stage in which I will outline why his rationale for advocating this amendment is not one I can support. ...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The rationale behind income tax relief for health expenses is broadly intended to provide assistance for significant or exceptional health expenses. Expenses for treatment of a routine nature or minor nature are, therefore, typically excluded. An example of this is that routine dental treatment does not attract the relief, though orthodontic treatment does. Consistent with this...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The issue is not a matter of the particular procedure that we are referring to here. While I respect the views of dentists, I have to be mindful of the fact that this is an issue that is broader than just dentistry. I refer to how we define what kind of health expenses qualify for tax relief. I could not agree to a change in regard to a dental expense and not expect that similar issues...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: We will do that. I will see what correspondence has been received on the matter and use that then for the Report Stage debate. This is a matter of equity, but it is also a matter of equity in terms of how we treat other healthcare expenses and that is the issue here. I must ensure that there is consistency across how all healthcare expenses are treated from a tax relief point of view but,...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 176: In page 83, to delete lines 5 and 6, and substitute the following: “61.(1) Section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 is amended— (a) in subsection (12), by deleting paragraph (b), and (b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (12): “(12A) A person aggrieved by an assessment or an...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: The higher payment rates are applicable until 31 January 2021 and will not be affected by health level guidance between now and then. They will, therefore, remain at these higher levels up to that point. I can only operate the employment wage subsidy scheme on a national basis. I do not have the ability to operate this on a regional or county-specific basis. That is where the CRSS is...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: As the date of 31 January 2021 is fixed in the legislation, I do not have the ability to extend beyond that date. In the normal operation of the EWSS, flexibilities are open to me regarding how it operates but the higher rates are fixed in legislation until the end of January next year. I will take stock of this issue as we approach that point and make further decisions about the EWSS. ...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: We moved to the higher level of the EWSS when we moved back to level 5. I reject entirely the idea that this has not been thought through. This is a very effective scheme which has saved hundreds of thousands of jobs. As the economy opens up and public health guidance improves, it is absolutely necessary that we begin to reduce the level of subsidy available as otherwise we will end up...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 177: In page 83, to delete line 11.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 178: In page 83, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: "and (iii) in the definition of "wage subsidy payment", by substituting "subsections (7), (8) and (21)(aa) and (c)" for "subsections (7), (8) and (21)(c)",".

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 179: In page 84, to delete line 17 and substitute the following: "(b) shall be irrevocable.", (c) in subsection (2)— (i) by substituting "this section shall apply to an employer for the period 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020 (in this subsection referred to as ‘the specified period’), where" for "this section shall apply to an employer where",...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 180: In page 84, to delete line 18 and substitute the following: "(4) Subsection (1) shall be deemed to have come into operation on 27 March 2020. (5) Subsection (2) shall be deemed to have come into operation on 20 October 2020. (6) Subsection (3) (apart from paragraphs (i) and (g)(i) thereof) shall be deemed to have come into operation— (a) as respects...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2020)

Paschal Donohoe: I wanted to make that point but I was on mute. I thank all of the officials who have facilitated all of this over many hours, including on Monday. I thank them for their co-operation in allowing this very important process to run smoothly and effectively, and allowing the committee and I to fulfil our roles. I thank all of the officials. I thank all of the members of the committee who,...