Results 21,621-21,640 of 32,864 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I will give an example of the complexity to which I referred earlier. An investment undertaking tax, which is in place for some of these products, operates at a 41% rate with an eight-year disposal window. We then have a 60% rate in relation to personal portfolio life insurance products that also operate over an eight year window. In terms of some life assurance products, we also have a 41%...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Deposit interest retention tax, DIRT, is deducted by Irish financial institutions from deposit interest paid or credited to the accounts of Irish residents. The basic rate is 39%. This was provided for in the Finance Act 2016. This will fall to 37% from 1 January 2018 and by a further 2% each year until 2020 when it will be 33%. It is a final liability tax, that is, it satisfies the...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Across our tax code we have many forms of relief that are time-bound. As such, this example is no different. I take on board the point made by the Deputy and I will see if there are other ways in which this policy statement from me can be made clearer to those who would be involved with the purchase of these vehicles. I have explained why I am making it available for one year. It is a...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Finance Bill refers to a one year period. The main reason for that is because I aim to carry out an overall review next year of how we provide benefit-in-kind treatment to all motor vehicles. I want to ensure that this policy decision next year fits into the broader review we have underway. As I confirmed on Second and Committee Stages, it is my intention to retain this relief for a...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Good evening, Deputy. How are you?

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: No.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Rate Application (22 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The 9% reduced rate of VAT is reviewed annually in the context of the Budget, including the costs and economic benefits and the additional revenue that could be raised by bringing the rate back to 13.5%.  Revenue’s most recent estimate for reverting the reduced 9% VAT rate back to 13.5% is that it would bring in extra revenue of €491 million. In terms of economic...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Stamp Duty (22 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The rate of stamp duty on commercial property was increased from 2% to 6% by way of a Budget Day Financial Resolution in respect of all relevant conveyances executed on or after 11 October 2017. Finance Bill 2017 contains transitional measures in relation to extending the previous 2% rate for certain transactions that would have reached an advanced stage in the sale process before Budget day...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Aid Investigations (22 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Ireland has never accepted the Commission’s analysis in the Apple State aid Decision. However, we have always been clear that the Government is fully committed to ensuring that recovery of the alleged Apple State aid takes place without delay and has committed significant resources to ensuring this is achieved as quickly as possible whilst ensuring that the interests of the Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Regulations (22 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Public Procurement is governed by EU and National rules. The aim of these rules is to promote an open, competitive and non-discriminatory public procurement regime which delivers transparency and value for money outcomes.  In addition, public procurement regulations require applicants to meet certain standards when applying for public contracts.  The criterion upon which...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (21 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputies will be aware that the process of phasing out mortgage interest relief from home owners has been underway since 2009. Relief has expired for qualifying mortgages taken out prior to 2004 and the relief was abolished for new borrowers for mortgages taken out after 31 December 2013. Therefore, only qualifying borrowings taken out between 2004 and 2012 remain in receipt of the relief....

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (21 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: All Deputies will know that regardless of the composition of this Government, by the time a budget was being forged and a change introduced that could have had an immediate and significant effect on 400,000 citizens, steps would have been taken to moderate the effect of that change, to make sure that it was introduced in as fair a manner as possible and over as long a period as possible....

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (21 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I think that is the difficulty, namely, that they were the tax policies of the 1960s and 1970s and the tax code, especially for a small open economy such as Ireland's has very different needs. We must have a resilient tax base. If we were to take the course of action recommended by Deputy Boyd Barrett it would undermine the strength of the tax base and I believe instead what we should be...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (21 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: For good or ill, I read Capital in the Twenty-First Century and it goes through the point Deputy Boyd Barrett made in great detail, but the majority of the book is about the inequality in the distribution of wealth and the causes of it.

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (21 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, we will move on to that later, whereas what we are focusing on here relates to the distribution of income. In that context it is worth making the point that the latest data available to the OECD showed we had the largest absolute reduction in the Gini coefficient between market and disposable income for any OECD country for which data were available. We do have a way of intervening in...

Finance Bill 2017: Report Stage (21 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: We dealt with this matter on Committee Stage. I just want to make a few points on the amendment put forward by Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett. I will explain why we will not be accepting it. The Deputy criticised the last budget when we delivered, through a series of changes to the USC and by increasing the entry point to the higher rate of income tax, a set of gains of around €5 per...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme Eligibility (21 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Help to Buy initiative does not apply to the purchase of second-hand properties. It is instead a targeted response that is aimed at first-time buyers, buying (or building) new residences. I am advised by Revenue that local property tax is generally payable following the purchase of a second-hand house where the house was built before 1 May 2013. In relation to first-time buyers, there...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Carbon Tax Yield (21 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that since its introduction in 2010 to the end of 2016 carbon tax receipts amounted to almost €2.5bn. Provisional figures for receipts for the first 10 months of 2017 amount to just over €350m. Further information on carbon tax receipts is published on the Revenue statistics website at:. This includes a breakdown by commodity since 2010. With regard to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Energy Prices (21 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: My Department monitors energy costs as part of its overall assessment of inflation trends on an ongoing basis. CSO data indicate that the Energy Products component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by an average of 3.9 per cent on an annualised basis over the first ten months of 2017. As a result, Energy Products have provided a positive boost to overall inflation this year,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Stamp Duty (21 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that transfers of farmland between certain blood relatives qualify for a reduced rate of stamp duty of 1% provided certain conditions are met. This is referred to as consanguinity relief. This measure currently applies where the person transferring the land is less than 67 years of age. In Finance Bill 2017 I have introduced measures to extend consanguinity...