Results 3,081-3,100 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: We are removing the upper limit on income of €500,000. It is something that the Minister for Finance will keep under close consideration but it is based on the consultation process. We have engaged with stakeholders in regard to the benefit of SARP to the Irish economy. It was not something introduced simply for the sake of doing so, rather it has been introduced to attract people...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: The Deputy has raised a number of points. First, it is not the priority of the Government to reward the better off, but I am sure that is a debate we will continue to have during the consideration of this Finance Bill and it is one the Deputy had with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, last night. I do not accept that there is a loss of tax revenue to the State from this measure....

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I am happy to do so. I do not have the figure in respect of an income of €1 million but I am sure we can work it out. If someone was earning €0.5 million under the enhanced the SARP, the one we are debating now, they would end up paying an effective rate of tax of 39.48%. If they were not availing of SARP, they would end up paying a tax rate of 49.68%. A person earning...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: The Deputy asked about the loss of income to the Irish Exchequer and I argue that there is no loss of income to the Exchequer.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: The Deputy has made his opinion clear.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I will endeavour to respond to the variety of issues raised by members. Deputy Boyd Barrett and I will probably disagree on this point but I do not accept the logic that this Government is not taking any action to protect lower income workers and people on the lower end of pay scales. I reference the fact that 410,000 people who were paying the USC when we came to office will now not be...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I will do so. Every now and again I might just try to move on to a political point because I presume people are raising political points because they would like me to respond to them politically. I take the Chairman's point.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I am sure we can dip in and out of that debate during the course of the day. The Government is very mindful of the sacrifices made by low and middle income families. Budget 2015 was the first step in an attempt to alleviate some of those burdens. This relief is an attempt to attract key decision-makers into boardrooms in Ireland. Let us be realistic. There are massive companies with...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: There was a consultation process, the report of which is on the Department of Finance's website. It is open to anybody who wishes to do so to make points on it. Obviously, IDA Ireland is a key source of information for the Government in this regard and it is supportive of the enhanced scheme.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: That is the nub of the point I am making. This obviously attracts individuals and, therefore, those individuals are recorded as a new job in Ireland and they obviously pay a tax element that I contend they would not pay without it. It is crucial that we have key decisions-makers here. IDA Ireland officials are trying to get into meeting rooms across the globe to encourage people to come to...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: No. The minimum time an individual would have to be non-tax resident in Ireland is five years.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: The Minister for Finance would be forthright in saying that this is worth trying. The scheme has been in place now since 2012. We have been asked, through a consultation process which has been published and through linkage with State agencies such as IDA Ireland, to look at enhancing the scheme, taking into account what our competitors are doing. We are doing that now. Why not try it?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: We will come to that issue later when discussing an amendment in the name of Deputy Doherty.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 12: In page 21, line 38, to delete " 'A' and".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 13: In page 21, to delete lines 40 to 42 and substitute the following: " "(3) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), where, for a tax year, a relevant employee—(i) is resident in the State for tax purposes and is not resident elsewhere,".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 14: In page 22, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: "(b) With effect from the tax year 2015, paragraph (a)(i) shall apply as if the words 'and is not resident elsewhere' were deleted.".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 15: In page 22, line 12, to delete "(b) A relevant" and substitute "(c) A relevant".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 16: In page 23, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:"(f) by deleting subsection (5),".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: On the question regarding section 13(2B)(c)(i), that is a claw-back measure. It only applies if an employee leaves before the 12 month period. In other words, if the full 12 months is not fulfilled, then relief will be apportioned. While an individual must have committed to spend 12 months here, he or she could arrive mid-year in, say, June or July, which would be the middle of the tax year.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: This is where my clawback comes into play. If the person arrives in June or July Deputy Doherty is correct that he or she is eligible for it for a portion of the year, but the person will have given a commitment under the legislation to be here for a minimum of 12 months. Should he or she leave before this 12 months he or she will not be eligible for the next portion of it in the next year,...