Results 3,681-3,700 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: I understand from a political point of view including the figure of €50 million because if one sets expectations low and several hundred million comes in, that is great. However, even the €50 million figure shocked me as a placeholder or a lowball figure. The vulture funds control assets for which they paid about €40 billion. We have the detail on that. For example,...
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: I still have a question on the same issue. The response the Minister of State gave does answer the question to some degree, because it says what Revenue did was take €1 billion worth of mortgages, it calculated the extra tax that would be paid under the new regime and then it scaled it up to an asset base of €20 billion. The vulture funds have an asset base. They paid...
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: The Minister of State is right, it is pretty conservative.
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: That is fine. Unless it sends out a message that says it is tax avoidance is normal-----
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: If I was a vulture fund and my mates and I were managing €40 billion or €50 billion in assets and the Government said they would tax us now and “By God we estimate you are going to pay us €50 million”. I would say, "Ah that is terrible, thank you very much". I do not mean to be glib about it but it does potentially send out a signal that says...
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: Could I ask if the Minister of State is going to come back to the committee before Report Stage with a note on the €50 million? It is fair enough if the €50 million is a prudent figure but to also include what the Government believes would be a success in terms of what the vulture funds will pay on whatever their profits are after normal deductibles like commercial bank loans...
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: I am asking for a target effective rate.
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: I have looked back through the Bill and I think the Minister of State said that the potential loophole whereby a vulture fund listed its loans as a residential-backed mortgage security will not be allowed and that it would not be able to list its loans in this way to avail of the exemption by virtue of not being the loan originator. Is that correct?
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: Does that mean it is the Government's intention that under no circumstances can any of the vulture funds that hold mortgages or commercial loans in Ireland at the moment list their loans to avoid tax?
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: With relevance to the following section, what is to stop a vulture fund, believing the Government has nailed section 110, moving its assets to an IREF such as a qualifying investor fund, QIF, or a qualifying investor alternative investment fund, QIAIF? Can it not do that now?
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: Therefore, there will be tax. The IREF is exempt from capital gains tax, CGT, but according to the clarification the Minister of State gave to Deputy Michael McGrath, by staying in section 110, CGT will be payable at 25% by such companies.
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: Could the Minister of State repeat that?
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: It will not be allowed as an internal transfer.
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Minister of State. Using numbers to illustrate, I wish to clarify what the Minister of State told Deputy McGrath. If a vulture fund declares profits of €100 million in a given year, it can deduct commercial loans, but it must pay €25 million in tax, a rate of 25%.
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Minister of State.
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: I move amendment No. 96: In page 38, to delete lines 21 to 24 and substitute the following: “(ii) as on the creation of the specified security: (I) would represent no more than a reasonable commercial return to a regulated commercial bank, (II) would not be dependent on the results of the qualifying company, and (III) would apply to interest or other distributions payable on...
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: I support the amendment. Maybe six months is not possible if the information is not available. Maybe nine or 12 months is better. Wiring something into the legislation would be very useful. Say we receive the legislation in 15 months. It is possible that none of us will be in the Oireachtas in 15 months' time. Obviously, the Minister of State will be. Who knows what is going to happen?...
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: That is true. By then, I could be working for someone.
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: Could we make it 12 months?
- Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)
Stephen Donnelly: The Government has done great work on the section 110 process and there might be close alignment on the policy objective of the IREF section, but as it stands, the section exempts from tax almost every investor in commercial and other investment property in the country. In light of recent events, it is really dangerous. Brexit will probably hit our small and medium enterprise sector hard,...