Results 17,561-17,580 of 32,983 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The increase in the betting duty rate from 1 per cent to 2 per cent, and the betting intermediary duty rate from 15% to 25%, came into effect on 1 January 2019. The last time that the betting duty rate was increased was in 1975 and at 1% betting duty was at an all time low.    Receipts from betting duty represented less than 1 per cent of all excise...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Personal Injuries Commission (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware, a key recommendation of the Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG) was the establishment of the Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) which was asked to examine amongst other things award levels in this country compared with elsewhere.  The PIC reported in September 2018 and concluded that soft tissue injuries are significantly higher here than in England and Wales...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Carbon Tax Implementation (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Decisions in relation to the carbon tax take place as part of the annual budgetary process. The Energy and Environmental Taxes paper prepared annually for the Tax Strategy Group contains analysis on carbon tax policy options. Recent Tax Strategy Group papers are available to read on the Department of Finance website and the 2019 Environmental Tax paper will be published in the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Community Banking (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy is aware, my Department in conjunction with the Department of Rural and Community Development, issued a report on Local Public Banking in Ireland last year. The report concluded that there is not a compelling case for the State to establish a new local public banking system based on the German Sparkassen model in Ireland. However, a commitment was given in the report that...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Aid Investigations (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government profoundly disagrees with the Commission’s analysis in the Apple State aid case.  An appeal is therefore being brought before the European Courts. Such an appeal takes the form of an application to the General Court of the European Union, asking it to annul the Decision of the Commission. The Attorney General prepared the legal grounds in support of the annulment...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Eligibility (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand that the Deputy is proposing that income tax relief, similar to that which is provided for under Section 644 TCA 1997, would apply where landlords provide long-term leases of residential properties.  As the Deputy will be aware, decisions by me in relation to the Tax Acts are made in the context of the annual Budget and Finance Bill process. However,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Film Industry Tax Reliefs (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 80 and 89 together. The Deputy will be aware that a number of amendments were made to Section 481 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 as part of Finance Act 2018. I would like to advise the Deputy that I signed the regulations and commencement order that give effect to the 2018 changes on the 27th of March. One of the most significant changes I made...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Registration (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: VAT is governed by the EU VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC), with which Irish VAT law must comply. Article 284 of the Directive permits Ireland to maintain two thresholds - €75,000 for goods and €37,500 for services. Different VAT registration thresholds for the supply of goods and services are a feature of the EU VAT Directive and Irish VAT legislation and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Treaties (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy will be aware that the OECD are carrying out further work on the reform of the international tax system to address the tax challenges arising from increasing digitalisation. There are two broad pillars to this work being discussed at the OECD. A first group of proposals advocate the need to reallocate a proportion of profits, and thus taxation rights,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Issues (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Both my officials and I have discussed the recent joint ESRI and Department of Finance study of the potential macro-economic impacts of Brexit on the Irish economy. The research does not examine the implications of Brexit on an all-island basis. As the UK Government and other research institutes have assessed, Brexit will have a negative economic impact on the UK economy and the Northern...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Exemptions (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The VAT rating of goods and services is subject to EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law must comply.  In accordance with the EU VAT Directive legal services are liable to VAT at the standard rate, currently 23%. In general, the VAT Directive provides that all goods and services are liable to VAT at the standard rate unless they fall within categories of goods and services specified...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Operations (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy will be aware that a reduction in the level of non performing loans (NPLs) across European banks is a major priority for the European banking regulator, the SSM. Given this position, banking regulators have tasked each bank with developing and implementing strategies with the expectation that their ratios will be reduced towards the European average. Despite the significant number...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: House Prices (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Department of Finance continues to monitor all aspects of the housing market, including the impact of venture capital companies and other institutional investors. In fact, in February of this year my Department published a paper tilted ‘Institutional Investment in the Housing Market’. The paper describes how ownership of rental properties by large scale landlords -...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Home Repossessions Rate (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 93 together. I have been advised by the Central Bank of Ireland that their quarterly mortgage arrears, restructures and repossession statistics provides data on the number of property repossessions in a given quarter across all institutions. The reporting template is collected on an aggregate basis and the following tables summarises the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Credit Availability (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 102 together. As the Minister for Finance I have no function in the commercial decisions of banks, however it is Government policy to ensure there is an adequate supply of credit, including working capital, to all viable SMEs and Farms. The Central Bank of Ireland collects data on bank lending by NACE sector, and collects gross new lending...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Brexit Preparations (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government welcomed the decision of the recent European Council to an extension of the Article 50 process until 31 October 2019. The extension includes giving the UK flexibility to leave before that date should the Withdrawal Agreement be ratified.  The European Council decision made clear that the Withdrawal Agreement, including the backstop, cannot be re-negotiated and that any...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Corporation Tax Regime (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Ireland’s corporation tax regime is a core part of our economic policy mix and is a longstanding anchor of our offering on foreign direct investment (‘FDI’). At 12.5%, Ireland has one of the most competitive headline corporate tax rates in the OECD. This rate is applied to a broad base with limited deductions – a policy which is endorsed by the likes of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Policy (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As published in the Stability Programme Update for 2019, my Department provides a discussion of the risks to economy over the coming years. These are numerous and primarily external in nature. First and foremost is the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit. Joint research by the ESRI and my Department has shown the impact that a disorderly Brexit could have for the economy....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am very conscious of the difficulties that increased insurance costs generally are having on many consumers, voluntary organisation and small businesses in this country.  That is why the completion of the Cost of Insurance Working Group’s (CIWG)  work remains very important in order to fully achieve its objectives of delivering fairer premiums for consumers and businesses,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (17 Apr 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: At the outset, I recognise that insurance costs are important in the context of ensuring the competitiveness of the economy and I am very conscious of the difficulties being faced by certain small businesses in obtaining insurance and that a number of such businesses have had to close or are facing closure if they are unable to get cover.  The Deputy will be aware that neither I, as...