Results 23,221-23,240 of 32,864 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Finance: National Economic Dialogue (12 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Department of Finance and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform hosted the National Economic Dialogue on the 28 and 29 June 2017 in Dublin Castle. The Dialogue was an opportunity to consider how to make best use of the available resources in the interests of all citizens. The aim was to foster discussion on how best to sustain and strengthen the recovery in the interests of all...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Rate Reductions (12 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The OECD, in its hierarchy of taxes, state that taxes on property and consumption are less harmful to economic growth than personal and corporate taxes.  A reduction in the standard VAT rate from 23% to 20% would cost the Exchequer €1.23 billion in a full year. I would point out that, as of 1 January 2017, 23 of the 28 EU Member States have a standard VAT rate of 20% or...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Rate Application (12 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As part of the Government's Job Initiative in 2011, a temporary second reduced VAT rate of 9% was introduced in respect of tourism related services, including hotel and holiday accommodation; restaurant services, various entertainment services; the use of sporting facilities; hairdressing services; and various printed matter. This measure was aimed at boosting tourism and the creation of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Excise Duties (12 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy will be aware, it is a longstanding practice of the Minister for Finance not to comment, in advance of the Budget, on any tax matters that might be the subject of Budget decisions.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Carbon Tax Implementation (12 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The carbon tax is designed to treat all carbon emissions the same in order to ensure that it is fair and its application is as broad as possible to make certain its efficacy.  The introduction of Carbon Tax was to send a price signal that there is a cost associated with the combustion of fossil fuels to the detriment of the environment. Ireland is legally...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: VAT Registration (12 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: VAT is governed by the EU VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC), with which Irish VAT law must comply. The VAT Directive provides that VAT registration thresholds may only be raised by Member States to maintain their value in real terms, that is, they may only be increased in line with inflation. The VAT thresholds were increased to their current values, €37,500 for services...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Universal Social Charge Exemptions (12 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The 3% USC surcharge is payable on self-assessed income in excess of €100,000.  When the USC was introduced in 2011 it was accompanied by a series of other reform measures designed to simplify the tax system and widen the tax base in order to raise the revenues required at that time.   One of these measures was the removal of the €75,000 income ceiling for...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Brexit Issues (12 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: On 2 May 2017, following the triggering of Article 50 and the adoption of the EU’s negotiating directives, the Government published a position paper on Brexit.  The paper reflects the stated Government priorities of minimising impact on trade and the economy; protecting the Northern Ireland Peace Process; maintaining the Common Travel Area; and influencing the future of the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministerial Meetings (12 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The primary point of contact with representatives of trade unions and employer organisations is through the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF). The LEEF meets  on a quarterly basis with Government represented by the then Minister for Finance, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Jobs Enterprise and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Foreign Direct Investment (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand that Parliamentary Question number 32 of 29 June 2017, answered by my colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, concerned the annual cost to the State of securing new jobs through foreign direct investment. Tax reliefs are generally available to all undertakings and not specifically targeted at FDI companies. Therefore it is not possible to separately identify...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Rebates (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am informed by Revenue that the cost of the Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) rebate for electric, electric hybrid and plug in hybrid cars in 2017 is estimated at €15 million for the year. There is no basis available to Revenue on which to forecast possible future growth, so assuming that there would be no change in registration numbers in each of the years 2018 to 2022 the estimated...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Living City Initiative (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Living City Initiative was enacted in the Finance Act 2013 and commenced on 5th May 2015. The Initiative was extended beyond the original planned pilot cities of Limerick and Waterford, to include the cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Kilkenny. In line with my Department's commitment to evidence based policy-making, the inclusion of these additional four cities followed the completion of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: In Budget 2016, the Minister for Finance committed to extending the bank levy (a form of stamp duty paid by financial institutions) until 2021, subject to a review of the calculation methodology. This took place during 2016, including a public consultation to ascertain the views of stakeholders. Following on from this, it was decided to retain the existing DIRT-based calculation methodology,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: NAMA Property Sales (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy will be aware that NAMA, through its continued engagement with the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government, has played a very important role in facilitating, on a commercial basis, the supply of social housing from within its existing portfolio. To end-June 2017, NAMA had delivered 2,398 properties for social housing use to both local authorities and approved...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Regulation (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Central Bank's total funding requirement for financial regulation activity is determined on an annual basis by the resources required to discharge its legal responsibilities under domestic and EU law. Section 32D and 32E of the Central Bank Act 1942, as amended, provide that the Central Bank Commission may make regulations relating to the imposition of levies and fees on the financial...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners Staff (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that Revenue's Comprehensive Review of Expenditure 2014 estimated that by increasing audit staffing resources by c.100 staff an additional Exchequer yield of €50m per annum could be achieved. It was estimated that by increasing staff on compliance projects such as oils, tobacco and alcohol by 100 could raise €20m per annum. On this basis it is...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: A comprehensive framework is now in place to address the mortgage arrears problem. One important part of the strategy is the ongoing Central Bank action to require banks to engage with their borrowers in mortgage difficulty and to formulate sustainable solutions to address cases of mortgage arrears. Within the remit of the Central Bank’s responsibilities for safeguarding stability...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Credits (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Both the fishers tax credit and the seafarers allowance are already available to qualifying persons whose journeys either begin or end in the State. In the case of the fishers tax credit, relief is also already available to qualifying persons whose journeys begin andend in the State. Section 472BA of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, which provides for the fishers tax credit, requires that a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that the relevant legislation setting out the treatment of PRSAs is contained in Chapter 2A of Part 30 of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997. Except in limited circumstances, benefits can not be drawn down until the individual is at least 60 years of age, as set out in section 787K of the TCA 1997. The amount of lump sum that can be taken on retirement...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Data (11 Jul 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 129 together. I am informed by Revenue that due to the timing of tax returns, 2014 is the most recent year for which complete data are available. Revenue received over 420,000 health expenses claims for 2014 at an estimated cost to the Exchequer of €146 million, which relates to a claims value of approximately €730m. The information for...