Results 4,641-4,660 of 6,295 for speaker:Michael D'Arcy

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I have to dispute that again. The budget that went through the Dáil is giving the largest ever quantity of money - €15 billion - for the public side of health. A further €6.5 billion is being provided for the private side of health. When both figures are added together, it is clear that our expenditure of €21.5 billion on health for fewer than 5 million people is...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: In this Finance Bill, the Government has provided for an increase of €200 in the earned income credit to bring up to the value of €1,150 per year. This €200 increase provides a significant benefit to small business owners across the country, including retailers, publicans, farmers and tradesmen. It is estimated that the credit will be of benefit in approximately 151,600...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I appreciate what Senators Horkan and O'Donnell have said. They will be aware that, although it is not provided for in the Finance Bill, the Minister in his budget speech said that we will try to encourage and incentivise the use of electric vehicles. We have moved beyond a one-year opportunity for the benefit-in-kind incentive and it will form part of the next budget and, it is hoped, the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I will continue from my comments to Senator O'Donnell on the previous section. Senator Horkan's recommendation would create a new section because it requests a report and this is the appropriate section under which to deal with it. The Senator is requesting that the Minister prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas within three months of the passing of the Bill. That...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: It will be done but not within three months. Everything for which the Senator is asking in respect of the benefit-in-kind for electric vehicles scheme will be considered in 2018.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: As the Senator is aware, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, has expanded the scheme from one year to a minimum of three to five years. He has committed to doing that in October 2018 for application in 2019. We expect the report to be completed in the next six months in order to be available for the budget in October 2018 for-----

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: It will be done within 12 months and is likely to be completed within six months. Although everything the Senator is asking for will be done, that will not occur within a three-month period.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I will read the note in a moment. One of the measures we are ensuring in this budget is that we are not hollowing out the tax base. In fact, the opposite is the case. We had Sinn Féin complaining on Second Stage about the raising of stamp duty back to 6%. The 2% rate is the emergency rate, the war time rate. The 6% rate is the normalised rate. It was 9%, and I believe on one...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: Yes. It is €10 million. As a result, what the Senator said was incorrect.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: That is what I am trying to provide. When I am in different parts of the world trying to encourage companies to come to Ireland to establish operations, the biggest criticism I hear relates to the early point at which people pay the higher rate of tax rather than the actual rate. Companies understand the higher rate, but the point at which one hits it in this jurisdiction is the second...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: The companies get no advantage; it is the individual.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I forgot that. It is the individual. The relief operates by allowing the employee a more advantageous tax treatment on gains arising on the exercise of qualifying share options. Gains realised on the exercise of KEEP share options will not be subject to income tax, PRSI or USC at the date of exercise. The gain will, however, be subject to capital gains tax on the future disposal of the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I will not repeat what has already been said. Senators Kieran O'Donnell and Horkan are exactly right. This scheme was designed to try to help smaller companies hold on to important staff. This is a real issue, particularly in rural Ireland. Bigger companies with 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 members of staff are able to pay higher wages so this is a method through which we can try to help the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: Senators will be aware that the help-to-buy initiative has been in operation since January 2017. It is designed to assist first-time buyers with obtaining the deposits required to purchase or build their first homes. With a view towards increasing the supply of new housing, the relief is only available in respect of new-build or self-build properties. Following its introduction in budget...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: Section 23 of the Finance Act 2016 introduced a new tax regime for funds that hold Irish real estate to be known as Irish real estate funds, IREFs. The section was introduced to address the use of certain fund vehicles to invest in Irish property by non-resident investors. IREFs are investment undertakings, excluding undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities, UCITSs,...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: The tax strategy reports will be published, but one of the things that became quite clear following Committee Stage and Report Stage is that there are a small number of these entities. Because of this, we will not debate them and Revenue will not provide information on them to the Department as it is not allowed to do so because of taxpayer confidentiality.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: I am not giving any commitment that there will be any further debate on the matter.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: Bona fide management buyouts are not affected.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: The State does not implement policy based on how much we contribute to the EU. It flows subsequently based on GNI. In this year's budget, it was proposed to limit the deduction for capital allowance for intangible assets, and any related expense, to 80% of the relevant income arising from the asset in that period. The measure was recommended by Mr. Séamus Coffey in his review of...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2017)

Michael D'Arcy: Since 1 January 2011, VRT has been charged on motor homes at a preferential category B rate of 13.3% of their open market selling price. This category, which is normally used for commercial vehicles, compares favourably to category A passenger vehicles, which are charged at rates between 14% and 36% of their open market selling price, depending on the level of carbon dioxide they emit.Were...