Results 5,741-5,760 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: Sections 472A and 88A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provide tax incentives for both employers and employees, to help the long-term unemployed to return to employment. The relief under Section 472A, known as the Revenue Job Assist scheme, allows qualifying employees, in addition to their normal tax credits, to claim certain income deductions, including additional deductions for...

Written Answers — National Asset Management Agency: National Asset Management Agency (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: Acting on my direction, on 29 March 2012 the NAMA Board approved the short-term facility with Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited (IBRC) collateralised by an Irish Government bond. The €3.06 billion facility was drawn on the 3rd April 2012. The maximum maturity under the direction is 90 days. The facility was provided on an arms-length commercial basis with interest accruing on...

Written Answers — State Banking Sector: State Banking Sector (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: As the deputy is aware, Bank of Ireland (the "Bank") announced on 29 March 2012 that the Bank had reached a conditional agreement to conduct a securities repurchase transaction with IBRC. The Bank stated: "As the transaction is considered to be a related party transaction under Listing Rules, it is subject to independent stockholder approval. A circular containing additional details of the...

Written Answers — National Asset Management Agency: National Asset Management Agency (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by NAMA that it is currently carrying out an extensive analysis of data on residential property under the control of its debtors. NAMA's best estimate, at this stage in its analysis, is that some 9,200 units are currently rented, 700 have been sold and 4,000 are vacant. This estimate is subject to additional refinement as the analysis proceeds. I am advised by NAMA that a...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: The position is that family members employed in a family business are taxed at the same rate of tax as non-family members. Therefore, I am assuming that the Deputy is referring to the disallowance of the employee tax credit (more commonly known as the PAYE tax credit) to a spouse and some children in respect of the PAYE tax due on their income from employment in a family business. I am...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Government has brought forward a number of improvements to incentives designed to help businesses retain staff and take on new employees over the past year. These include the measures set out as follows. The Employment and Investment Incentive (EII) and Seed Capital Scheme commenced on 25 November 2011 following the receipt of State aid approval from the European Commission. These schemes...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: In general, transactions related to financial instruments are exempt from VAT under the EU VAT Directive with which Irish VAT legislation must comply. The Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 provides that financial services supplied by a taxable person consisting of the issuing, transfer, or otherwise dealing, in bonds, shares, securities, derivatives or structured financial products are...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 211 and 214 together. I understand the ESRI and the Central Bank have finalised an assessment of the impact of any potential Financial Transactions Tax. The assessment will be reviewed within the Department and I will consider making it available in due course. I thank the ESRI and the Central Bank for the work they have put into the assessment. The Deputy...

Written Answers — Public Service Staff: Public Service Staff (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: Any matters relating to remuneration for public service employees is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Following the report of the Covered Institutions Remuneration Oversight Committee (CIROC) in February 2009, the then Government decided to implement a base salary cap of €500,000 to be applied to the CEO position at some of the covered...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: During 2012 and 2013, this Department will actively engage in a threefold action plan to meet its strategic objectives: · This will firstly involve training our existing teams so that they can develop greater technical, management and leadership skills necessary to the challenge. Using the performance management evaluation system, we will review our staff and identify any skills which need...

Written Answers — Derivatives Market: Derivatives Market (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 215 and 216 together. The Central Bank published the Irish results early last year. The survey was conducted on turnover in April 2010 and can be found at http://www.centralbank.ie/polstats/stats/pages/bissurvey.asp x. While the global survey showed that trading activity in the OTC interest rate derivatives market increased by 24 per cent since the last...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: Stamp duty is a duty charged on a wide range of legal and commercial documents or instruments as opposed to the transaction underlying the instruments. The stamp duty chargeable in relation to transactions involving financial instruments is as follows. Stocks and Marketable Securities Stamp duty at the rate of 1% is chargeable on the instrument of transfer, including electronic transfers...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Foreign Account Tax Compliant Act (FATCA), which is part of the US Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010, aims to combat tax evasion by US tax residents using foreign accounts. It includes certain provisions on withholding taxes and on the reporting of information by foreign financial institutions for US tax compliance purposes. It will come into effect from January 2013....

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy is referring to Section 83 of Finance Act 2012 which deals with the Export Refund Scheme. The reason the scheme will commence when the Minister for Finance so orders, is because of the time required to ensure the necessary systems and procedures have been put in place. As the Deputy will appreciate, the appropriate IT system required for the scheme to function effectively will...

Written Answers — European Stability Mechanism: European Stability Mechanism (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: On 27 March 2012 while presenting the OECD's Economic Surveys of the Euro Area and the European Union in Brussels, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said the Euro Area Finance Ministers meeting, taking place that week, needed to boost the firepower of the European stability funds to at least one trillion euros. He said that a credible financial firewall would provide governments with the...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: Of the five "wealth taxes" mentioned by the Deputy, three – those in France, Norway and Switzerland – are wealth taxes as normally understood, that is, an annual recurring tax on wealth. To estimate the potential revenue from such a wealth tax, we would need to identify the wealth held by individuals. I am informed by the Central Statistics Office that the CSO institutional sector...

Written Answers — National Asset Management Agency: National Asset Management Agency (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: I have no function in respect of the sale of private property by the National Asset Management Agency. NAMA has not disposed of any property directly itself. The NAMA Board has issued guidelines to be followed by its debtors and receivers in terms of the disposal of assets, which require, wherever feasible, their sale on the open market and their public advertisement. In any event, NAMA...

Written Answers — National Debt: National Debt (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: What the analysis referred to by the Deputy shows is that on the basis of certain assumptions, including regarding the deficit in the public finances and nominal economic growth rates, the debt-to-GDP ratio could converge to a low level in the long-run. The analysis referred to by the Deputy is a technical, mathematical analysis. In it, it is assumed that nominal GDP grows at 4 per cent per...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the employer in question is obliged to issue P45s to employees. In this case the non-issue of a P45 will be followed up by Kilkenny District, Office of the Revenue Commissioners, Kilkenny.

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (22 May 2012)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the National Treasury Management Agency, as Manager of the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF), that the total value of the National Pensions Reserve Fund Discretionary Portfolio at 31 December 2011 was €5.4 billion , including cash balances of €0.8 billion. The total value of the National Pensions Reserve Fund Discretionary Portfolio at 31 March 2012 was €5.7...