Results 4,561-4,580 of 36,118 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate and understand the rationale. It is not an area in which I am an expert. I am, however, concerned about this move. The AMRF takes into account the State pension which is approximately €12,000 a year. The new limit is about €12,700, a tiny amount of money. One would only need a very small additional sum to have the rest of one's money forced into an ARF which is...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Does this amendment contain a sunset clause?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Is there a danger that someone who is not aware of the debate on the Finance Bill will end up in the same situation? In three years time will they state the Government increased them dramatically?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: As stated, I appreciate the shock delivered to the system in 2011. However, it would not be prudent to leave this in its current form. There was sense to what happened in 2011 in the context of having a minimum retirement fund of €18,000, not €12,700. The absence of a sunset clause calls this into question. The Minister has reverted to the original pre-2011 figures. Why...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: We have discussed those amendments and I am not going to go into them in detail again. I will simply move them and withdraw them.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 28: In page 28, subsection (6)(b)(i), line 30, to delete "€12,700" and substitute "€18,000".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 30: In page 28, subsection (6)(b)(ii), line 41, to delete "€12,700" and substitute "€18,000".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 31: In page 28, subsection (6)(b)(ii), line 43, to delete "€63,500" and substitute "€119,800".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 32: In page 28, subsection (6)(b)(ii)(I), line 46, to delete "€63,500" and substitute "€119,800".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The proposal in terms of a contributor dipping into his or her pension is one we in Sinn Féin would have considered well over a year and half ago. As the Minister would know, many people would like to avail of this opportunity. However, we did not come forward with proposals to do so. One of the concerns we had was that the banks would use this as a way to access money that should be...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: My specific question is that if my pension policy was maturing next month, would I pay 41% if I was in the higher tax bracket as well as PRSI and USC on my pension reductions?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I would not pay PRSI on that income.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: One does not pay PRSI on pensions?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I would pay USC which would mean that I would pay a total of 48% on the amount.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Okay. One could pay between 48% and 51%. If, say, Johnny is due to retire next year, he would be pay between 48% and 51% on the amount drawn down and the Minister is facilitating him to dip into 30% of his AVC fund but only to pay 41% on the amount drawn down.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: That is incentivising people. We may have a debate about how marginal it is but it is not a case of equal in, equal out. If I was to retire next year and I had an AVC, it would be in my interest to withdraw 30% out now because I would be exempt from the USC on that amount.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: There is a benefit that is accrued to them and as the Minister stated, it is a policy decision not to apply universal social charge USC, which does apply to other people who avail of their pensions. I am not arguing for everybody to be able to dip into their pensions, but the only people being facilitated under this legislation are those who have a moderate amount of income. They are not...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I will move on to another point, but I disagree with the substance of the Minister's point about it being their own money. A portion of it is their own money; the remainder is made up of the State's contribution through tax reliefs. I will come back to that. This is a question of fairness. When an individual who has put money into a pension fund draws that down, whether it is an AVC, an...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I stress that I used gardaí as an example. This is a way of making profit for individuals. If one has enough money to invest in an AVC, particularly at the latter end where one can invest something like 40% of one's income in respect of this year, this is how one basically avoids tax. When we develop a tax code, there will always be people who perhaps will not avoid tax but will...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The State does not give people 41% tax relief on pension contributions so they can buy a new car. My point is that we should not facilitate them by not applying a USC charge which is applicable to all other pension drawdowns.