Results 29,161-29,180 of 35,973 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Companies that employ up to 3,000 people and are completely tax resident in Ireland are not those in which we are interested. We would welcome any expansion of or additional investment in such companies. It is the activities of the subsidiaries of these companies which are at issue. I take it that these companies will reshape how they operate. A company which employs people and pays taxes...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Apple has been the subject of much debate here and in other jurisdictions in the wake of the discovery that one of its subsidiaries - a fairly profitable subsidiary - has no tax residency anywhere in the world. We do not know whether that company is on its own in this regard. The Minister is now proposing, rightly so, that companies which are incorporated here and have no tax residency...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: None of these losses nor the reliefs are time-bound. If they do not use these within a period of time, then they will expire.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: So they can carry them forward, 20-40.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I intend to table an amendment on Report Stage. I welcome the fact that the Minister has tabled this amendment. It is ironic because for the most part of a year, I have been arguing exactly this point that non-tax resident companies anywhere in the world who are incorporated here should be deemed to be tax resident by reason of their incorporation. I have come up against quite intense...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. If there is a legitimate argument about the tier 1 capital ratio that can be dealt with by allowing the losses to be carried forward it should not disadvantage the Irish taxpayer in respect of the profits on which they should have been taxed. That is why the levy can be adjusted to reflect that. I hope that the Minister will acknowledge that at least for a period of...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The fact that we are scrapping the 50% loss eligible to be carried forward as a minimum does have an impact on the return to the State. I know the Minister has focused on the shareholding, the price of shares and the profitability of these banks, and the attractiveness of the value of our shares increasing, but if these banks return to profitability - both are expected to do so in 2014 -...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I understand that completely, but this Parliament approved the provision that AIB and Bank of Ireland would be restricted in offsetting historic losses against the tax they owe the Irish people when they return to profitability. I do not want to get into a debate about the banks that the Irish people, for the right or wrong reasons, whether they wanted to or not, saved. It was decided in...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister has said before that this measure is about how tax credits will be assessed, in terms of capital ratios, the potential recapitalisation of the banks, if it ever arises, and how Europe will define what instruments will fall within core tier one capital. Is this based on letting them carry the losses forward? Otherwise, it will be a drag on the banks in terms of stress testing...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: While I understand the Minister's point, the intention of a scheme and its application are sometimes two very different stories.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I am concerned that people may abuse the scheme for the wrong reasons. I continue to oppose the section because I do not know what the Minister has in mind in this regard. Will a person who moves out of a house for six months to live in private rental accommodation fulfil the criterion that his or her home has not been in use as a dwelling immediately prior to the conversion? In such...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. The scheme is being expanded in two ways - geographic location and qualifying criteria - which could give rise to loopholes in the scheme. Nobody knows yet if there are loopholes but there will be a lot of wealthy accountants and professionals who will try to find ways around it. A pilot scheme should be narrow to allow us to test the waters, identify loopholes and fix...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: My views on this initiative are well known as I spoke about it on Second Stage and at length on Committee Stage of last year's Finance Bill. I am concerned that the Minister is extending a scheme which is not up and running. It is not that there has been no take-up, as Deputy Timmins mentioned. There cannot be a take-up because we have not given effect to the scheme in last year's Finance...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: Not in respect of medical cards.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister has just introduced it for-----

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister has made the claim that some of the over-70s in receipt of medical cards are wealthy millionaires and that this should not be accepted. We should have a universal health care system. If there are wealthy individuals over the age of 70 years, we should deal with their income through proper taxation measures. The Minister disagrees with the principle of the most wealthy in...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: That dramatic move cost the State approximately €50 million, but the Government introduced another measure that recouped that amount. I am referring to the case of an employee employed by two employers or the like. While the affected individuals saw some value, there would be more substantive value in bringing those earning the minimum wage out of the USC net. The Minister is right,...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: We have also published legislation on this issue. The amendment would remove them from the universal social charge, USC, tax net and it is an appropriate measure. If it were passed it would come at a cost of €94 million and would affect 296,000 people, based on the figures I obtained from the Department. Those earning the minimum wage and below as their weekly income would have this...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister mentioned exempting those earning below the minimum wage from the USC tax net would have the effect of reversing the intention of the USC, which was to broaden the tax base, and also mentioned that the principle of the charge is that everybody should pay something regardless of how small. However, he acknowledged the measure he brought forward removed 300,000 people from the tax...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Pearse Doherty: I did not expect the Minister to accept the amendment. However, it was worth putting it on the record that it can be raised but not to the 8 percentage points suggested by the Minister. We got a good glimpse of behaviour of account holders in this State during the Ulster Bank fiasco when normal banking services for a number of its 1 million customers in this State were shut down yet few...