Results 21,941-21,960 of 32,864 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Revenue Commissioners have informed me that this is something that needs to be corrected because there was an oversight in the original legislation and how it was drafted. What it means now is that this change will apply if this activity forms either all or part of a trade that a company is carrying out.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Chairman, I have been asked a very technical question.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: If that is agreeable to the committee.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I do not. The information that I gave came from the Central Statistics Office so I do not have that information. The figures referred to the purchase of patents, as I said when I gave the information earlier.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes. As I said, I am looking to move the percentage back to 80% because I believe it is the right way in which these assets now need to be taxed. I do not want to do this in any way that is backward looking because, as I have said on a number of occasions, I am very concerned about the effects it could have on how this tax policy is perceived.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: No. What it affects is the timing upon which the allowances could be drawn down. So, at a point in time, when the depreciation reliefs that are available are gone, the Irish State will receive more tax. What I am trying to do here is smooth out the tax in income that will be available to the State over a longer time period to make them more sustainable. It is my assessment that moving to...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, there are many moving parts. It is my assessment that a further moving part, that we would move to, would be if we were to make a kind of change that looked backwards. It is my view that such a move would have an effect on our ability to retain investment, jobs and all of those things in our country and, therefore, corporate tax policy, and the certainty of it, is so important. In...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It is 15 years.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Up to 15 years.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: In response to Deputy Doherty's direct question, this matter did not come up at my meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland and I certainly did not seek the chamber's view on it. We had a wide-ranging discussion on a number of matters, but not on this particular issue. I have not had meetings with any companies on the matter and I have not met any company or individual on this...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: For the purpose of being clear about how this issue is dealt with, I must inform the Deputy that there are a number of ways in which section 291A is structured to try to make sure it is not used for tax avoidance purposes. I will list the key ones, given the claims the Deputy has just made. Relief is only available where a company is carrying out a bona fide trading activity in respect of...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Before I do so, I have been asked to refer two matters to the committee. This will only take one moment to do. First, I have been asked by the Revenue Commissioner to clarify a comment made during the earlier discussion on REITs. REITs do not get a tax deduction for local property tax. REITs pay a dividend out of the profits available for distribution and the shareholders are taxed on the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I already have plans to increase the level of expenditure in third and fourth level institutions. As Deputies know, I made an announcement that I am planning to increase the training levy by 0.1% per year for the next three years. For next year alone that will bring in an additional €36 million to €37 million that would be available for higher and further education in our...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I will not be present for the afternoon session because I am taking parliamentary questions on public expenditure and reform. I will be present for the other session.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Housing Data (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As announced in my Budget speech on 10 October 2017, it is my intention to establish Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) to provide funding on market terms to viable residential development projects whose owners are experiencing difficulty in obtaining debt funding. HBFI will be a standalone entity which will provide funding directly into the market. It is important to note that HBFI...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Savings Schemes Administration (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The NTMA have advised me that An Post acts as an agent of the NTMA in the administration of State Savings. The incident the Deputy refers to, related to An Post operational issue. No NTMA systems were impacted. Due to the operational issue in An Post, there was an error in issuing maturity notices for one State Savings product that lasted approximately 2 weeks. All customers affected...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Alcohol Pricing (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I believe the issue the Deputy is referring to is that of below cost selling of alcohol products. The remit of my Department extends to the taxation placed on alcohol products. The issue of below cost selling is a matter in the first instance for my colleague the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. The prohibition on below cost selling was removed when the Groceries...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for a Partnership Government commits the Government to thoroughly investigating the German Sparkassen model for the development of local public banks that operate within well-defined regions. The purpose of the consultation process and report is to assist the Government in its analysis of local public banking in an Irish context. My Department and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tracker Mortgage Examination (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy's question was referred to the bank by officials in the Department who were provided with the following response: "Bank of Ireland is currently conducting its examination of tracker mortgage related issues which covers, amongst other things, transparency of communications with and contractual rights of tracker mortgage customers. This is an industry wide review required by the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme Eligibility (8 Nov 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides that for a first time purchaser to be eligible for the Help-to-Buy (HTB) scheme, he or she must enter into a contract with a qualifying contractor. If first-time purchasers do not purchase from a qualifying contractor, it is not an eligible house purchase. However, I am advised by Revenue that to consider the matter further, if...