Results 9,621-9,640 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The rationale is all the work done in the Department of Health on the abuse of alcohol and the measures that should be taken to reduce that abuse, particularly by young people. One of the major focal points is slabs of beer. A can may cost 40 cent, for example. People can purchase alcohol at a very low cost in supermarkets because of the nature of the supermarket trade. Some of the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: These all are legitimate concerns. We would be conscious of the cross-Border issue. Of course, we are operating on two axes on the cross-Border issue: the excise, which we control, but also the variations in the relative value of sterling, which is probably a bigger driver. At present, the latter is moving in the wrong direction in terms of cross-Border trade. We have to watch the two....

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: We will keep an eye on all these concerns.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The section provides for the application of the carbon tax to solid fuels. The purpose of introducing carbon tax was to send a price signal that there was a cost associated with the consumption of fossil fuels to the detriment of the environment. It should also be noted that solid fuels have the highest carbon content of all fossil fuels and are considered the dirtiest fuels. Given the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am conscious of many of the arguments being put forward by Deputies, which is the reason this is being phased in over a long period. An effective date of 1 May in practical terms means that the increase will not apply until September or October, when they commence purchasing solid fuels for the winter period. When it is further increased in 2014, there will not be a full year effect until...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: This is an interesting discussion and I do not disagree with much of what Deputy Boyd Barrett has said, such as his proposal on applying the costs of energy conservation measures to the electricity bill. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has had discussions along these lines with the ESB. I do not know the state of the discussions at present, but it is an idea...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: There are also days we cannot turn it on. I nearly got hypothermia in the Dáil during the debate on the property tax. It was freezing in there.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: We have to move on this. Deputy Doherty pointed out the difficulty in respect of less-well-off households, but one could have a less-well-off Government as well. It is a question of getting the seed capital to start the programme and finance it up-front; the savings come subsequently. In the strapped financial position we are in, front-loading the expenditure is one of the issues were are...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: One of the initiatives taken last year at a pan-European level was to increase capital in the EIB by €10 billion. Different countries were levied for their contributions. Of course, that €10 billion leverages up an awful lot of extra activity, because that is just the seed capital. The EIB will not fully fund a project. It works on the basis of partnerships, which can be...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I move amendment No. 78: In page 122, lines 28 to 32, to delete paragraph (a) and substitute the following:“(a) in paragraph (d)(ii) by substituting “a vehicle that, at all stages of manufacture, is classified as a category N1 vehicle with less than 4 seats and has, at any stage of manufacture,” for “a category N1 vehicle that, at the time of manufacture, has less...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Many of the concerns expressed by the Chairman are motor tax issues rather than VRT issues. Motor tax is a matter for the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The changes made by the Minister to the schedule of motor tax have helped to redress some of the Chairman's concerns. Obviously, there is still a distance to go. The significant changes made to the VRT...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: We have told the motor trade that we will keep this matter under constant review. I have no problem giving a commitment to review the whole scheme all over again. I am not sure how the issue of the seven-seater family car, for families of four children or more, can be addressed because the basis of the taxation is CO2 emissions. If the CO2 emissions for a seven-seater is the equivalent of...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Will the Deputy come up with a worked-out formula?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: Will the Deputy please send it to me and we will see what we can do for the next review.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Treasury Management Agency (12 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy is aware it has been estimated that there will be a c.€20 billion reduction in the National Treasury Management Agency’s market borrowing requirements over the next 10 years (before transaction costs) as a result of replacing the amortising Promissory Notes with a portfolio of non-amortising Irish Government bonds. The €20 billion reduction in market...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Treasury Management Agency (12 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: NAMA seeks to ensure that income generated by assets securing NAMA loans is applied towards repaying a debtor’s indebtedness to NAMA. In certain circumstances, debtors are allowed to retain a portion of asset income in lieu of overheads which include staff costs where this is necessary to preserve the value of the assets securing NAMA’s loans. NAMA advises that operating cost...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Universal Social Charge (12 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The position is that the Universal Social Charge (USC) was introduced in Budget 2011 to replace the Income Levy and Health Levy. It was a necessary measure to widen the tax base, remove poverty traps and raise revenue to reduce the budget deficit. The USC is a tax payable on all gross income. However, there are a number of exemptions and reliefs from the USC. There is a lower exemption...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (12 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that PAYE Balancing Statements (P21s) for the years 2009 to 2011 inclusive issued to the person concerned in January 2013. As the total overpayment arising was less than €0.50 cent the credit will be included in future tax credits. The tax year 2012 will be reviewed on receipt of Form 60 for 2012.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Taxation Collection (12 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Inter-departmental group chaired by Dr. Don Thornhill to consider the design of a property tax (the “Thornhill Group”) recommended that the Local Property Tax (LPT) paid in respect of a rented property should be deductible for income tax or corporation tax purposes, in a similar manner to commercial rates. However, the Group recognised the considerable pressures on the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Taxation Application (12 Mar 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 sets out how the tax is to be administered and how a residential property is to be valued for Local Property Tax (LPT) purposes. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that LPT is a self-assessed tax so in the first instance it is a matter for the property owner to calculate the tax due based on his or her assessment of the market value of the...