Results 11,241-11,260 of 26,924 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Okay.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is not a problem.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I had more or less concluded. Why were these tax breaks introduced for property investors and speculators in the first place? I still do not understand why it was done. Is there a recognition at this point that it was a mistake? I may have asked this through tabling parliamentary questions, as has Deputy Donnelly. Do we have any idea of how much tax was forgone as a result of the tax...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is 100% so there is no capital gains tax. They will walk away with all of the value of that appreciation of Irish property assets that they bought worth billions of euro, and we are going to let them do it. I do not understand the rationale for that. Does the Minister of State not think we should not allow that to happen and rather we should grab it all, or a very big portion of it, and...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: No problem.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I wish to ask one question on that. I will come back on the generality of the issue later. If one of these funds does not distribute dividends but uses any income it derives on the investment in property, could it then buy more property with that, and because it is not being distributed to the investor, it would not be taxed? As long as the extra income it is generating from rent stays...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is absolutely shocking.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Anybody else, who bought a property and gets rent from it pays tax on it. However, these big investment entities can come in, buy lots of property and get extortionate rents, and as long as they do not make a distribution to the investor, they can use the revenue they are generating to buy even more property and jack the rents up even more. If they hold on to it for five...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Does the Minister of State have evidence for that statement?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: My point relates to what happens if they hang on to the fund for five years or for a period beyond five years. Given what is happening with rents at the moment, they must be making a fortune at present. If they are not distributing those moneys, and if they are holding on to the fund without selling it beyond the five-year period, they must be able to use those moneys to buy even more...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Only at the point at which they pay-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is clear that we have differing views. To be honest, the technical sort of answer we are being given is not really getting to the heart of the point. When one looks at this stuff, one sometimes thinks that money is being made out of fresh air for guys who have to pay 20% capital gains tax, or no capital gains tax at all if they hold on to their assets for longer than five years. Where...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I put it to the Minister of State that we are not finding that balance. We have really messed up in the area of property. I put it to the Minister of State that this tokenistic measure will not undo the damage that has been done. Obviously, we disagree on this issue. I would like to ask a couple of questions about other issues.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: They reinvest the profits.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: No, I do not see it.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: As I have said, it is shocking if this is what is going on. I suspect that it is. I have another couple of questions. The withholding tax does not apply to certain other collective investment undertakings. The Minister of State has mentioned life assurance and pension funds, etc., in this context. Can he tell us what other collective investment undertakings this tax does not apply to?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Wow.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Is the Minister of State saying it happens at the point when the transfer from the REIT to one of these other entities takes place?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Any of the entities referred to by the Minister of State could have an interest in property. I am trying to understand this. Entities might be investing in property, but the unit trusts or those bodies in the lists referred to by the Minister of State are not subject to withholding tax. Is that correct?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2016)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is what the Minister of State is talking about, but I am asking which categories are not liable for withholding tax. The Minister of State has listed them. Is that correct?