Results 8,521-8,540 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Disabled Drivers (16 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that Section 134(3) of the Finance Act 1992 (as amended) and Statutory Instrument No. 353 of 1994 (Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations, 1994) (as amended) provide for permanent relief from the payment of specified maximum amounts of VAT and VRT for persons registered under the scheme. The legislation specifies...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Consultancy Contracts (16 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: The two parliamentary questions posed by the Deputy were as follows: PQ 45297/12 - To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide details in tabular form for the years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012 the total amount of expenditure on consultancy by his Department, any body under his aegis or State agency for which he has responsibility; the names of the consultancy companies...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fuel Laundering (16 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they are conscious of the threat that fuel laundering poses to legitimate business and the exchequer and that they have adopted a comprehensive strategy to tackle the problem. This strategy includes supply chain controls designed to deny fuel launderers access to marked fuel for laundering and to deny them access to the market for laundered fuel....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Black Economy (16 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they are very mindful of the unfair competitive advantage to be gained by those businesses that do not fulfil their tax obligations. Revenue’s tax and duty compliance programmes are under constant review to ensure that they are focussed on the areas of greatest risk, including risks from the shadow economy. Revenue tackles the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: New Economy and Recovery Authority (16 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I informed the Deputy in response to a question from him on progress on the NewERA project on 15 November 2012 that the Government announced the establishment of the New Economy and Recovery Authority (NewERA) within the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) in September 2011. NewERA has a centralised shareholder advisory role from a financial and commercial perspective in respect of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Promissory Notes (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I propose to answer Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. As the Deputies are aware, the Government has been working extremely hard to secure a deal on the Irish bank debt with our European partners, and detailed work will continue to ensure that positive moves in Europe are harnessed to maximise the benefit to the Irish taxpayer. The focus of the ongoing detailed discussions has progressed to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Promissory Notes (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy is incorrect in assuming that a deal is certain. What I said was that it was likely. In saying that, I reiterate what I said in advance of the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels last December. I was asked if Ireland would be paying the promissory note and I replied that because a deal was likely it was unlikely that we would be paying it in full. There is no advance on that. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Promissory Notes (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: As I said, while a deal is likely, it is not certain. It has not been concluded. There are significant outstanding matters that have yet to be concluded and they are of sufficient magnitude to derail a deal. There are also some moving parts; therefore, it is not possible for me to discuss the elements of the deal until it has been finalised, which is obvious. I accept Deputy Sean...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Promissory Notes (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: As I said, since a deal has not been concluded and is not certain to be concluded, I cannot describe the elements of a deal that has not yet been concluded. It is idle to speculate about something that is not yet in place and may not be. I am not stalling. I am saying that while the negotiations have proceeded in a satisfactory manner, they have not been concluded and there are significant...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tax Code (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I remind the Deputy of the long-established Government strategy to use the tax code to attract jobs and investment to Ireland, in particular foreign direct investment. This strategy precedes the current Government. We have used a competitive tax system in this way for more than 50 years, but it underpins the Government’s key objective to create jobs and economic growth by attracting...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tax Code (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have given the OECD view from its survey. According to the OECD, even a 2.5% rise from 12.5% to 15% would reduce inward investment by nearly 10%. The OECD in its working paper entitled, "Tax and Economic Growth", states:The possibility that high top marginal tax rates will increase the average tax rates paid by high skilled and high income earners so much that they will migrate to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tax Code (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am not avoiding what the OECD has said. I am quoting from two separate OECD studies, one on corporate taxation rates and the other on personal taxation rates, both of which sustain my argument that higher taxes reduce foreign direct investment and they can lead to the migration of the very highly skilled workers whom we need to grow the economy and create further employment.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Tax Code (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: We do not have a flow of migrants into Ireland to avail of lower personal tax rates because we do not have lower personal tax rates than the rest of Europe. We have very high marginal rates of tax in Ireland. The marginal tax rate for employees, if the universal social charge and PRSI are included, is now 52%. It has increased from 43.5% in 2008. The top marginal rate for self-assessed...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Property Tax (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that significant progress has been made with regard to their preparations for introducing local property tax. The legislation governing local property tax is contained in the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 which was signed into law by the President on 26 December 2012. The Revenue Commissioners have already had extensive contacts with a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Property Tax (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Government decided to have one standard rate of tax for the country as a whole, based on the value of houses. At present, as the Deputy will be aware, some of the funding for local government comes from motor taxation. The incidence of motor taxation falls heavily on the Dublin area and on the main urban centres also. The difference here is that unlike motor tax, which goes into a fund...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Bank Debt Restructuring (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am satisfied that every available and appropriate opportunity to advance Ireland's position in regard to legacy bank debt with our European partners is being availed of. As the Deputy is aware, the Irish Government has been working extremely hard to secure a deal on the Irish bank debt with our European partners and detailed work will continue to ensure that positive moves in Europe are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Bank Debt Restructuring (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: Rating agencies are paid by financial organisations to measure risk. One should never expect rating agencies to come out singing and dancing and giving one a whole lot of good news because their business is to measure risk, which they are assessing constantly. The rating agencies do not say Irish paper is junk as we have a rating of BBB+. During the week, Fitch said that if Ireland got a...

Other Questions: Bank Debt Restructuring (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: As widely known, the Heads of State or Government stated at the 29 June meeting "that it is imperative to break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns" and that "the Eurogroup will examine the situation of the Irish financial sector with a view to further improving the sustainability of the well-performing adjustment programme." The European Council on 18-19 October subsequently...

Other Questions: Bank Debt Restructuring (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I read the article on the front page of the Financial Times, to which the Deputy referred, I have not seen the article in The Wall Street Journal. We have had no indication that there is such a Commission paper. When I spoke to Commissioner Rehn last week in Dublin Castle and discussed these matters with him informally he did not indicate to me that there was such a paper. My officials who...

Other Questions: Banks Recapitalisation (17 Jan 2013)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 11 together. As announced by my Department last week, the State was successful in disposing of its entire €1 billion holding of contingent capital notes, CCNs, in Bank of Ireland. The transaction followed an initial approach by a number of investment banks to the Department late last year which indicated that there was sizeable investor...