Results 30,721-30,740 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: Do the Minister of State's officials have a view on how much income has been lost to Revenue through these aggressive forms of tax planning? During the past year or more, a great deal of information has emanated about people with deposit accounts in Switzerland in particular that have been used to avoid tax. In well publicised cases, whistleblowers there have identified people from various...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: I have written to the Minister for Finance on several occasions on this matter. Was this connected to tax avoidance? Were the depositors in that bank-----

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: The section describes transactions and persons and contains a reference to promoters. The transfer of large deposits of money from the Irish jurisdiction to tax havens by means of promoters or to places where there is a practice of banking secrecy, is the highest form of aggressive tax avoidance management that I am aware of. The Minister will remain a Minister for the duration of the...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: -----for the officials to write to me? With regard to what is described as the mandatory disclosure regime, can the officials advise the Minister of State why this amendment was introduced unless they were certain that certain promoters of schemes were able to avoid examination of the schemes by the Revenue Commissioners? I ask the Minister of State to give the background to the amendment.

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: The first part of section 57 deals with the exemption from VAT of public postal services provided as part of the universal service set out in the EU postal directives. It extends this both to An Post and any other designated provider of that service. I presume this means postage stamps will remain free of VAT, in addition to postal services, be they the traditional services provided by An...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: I move amendment No. 90a: In page 196, before section 52, to insert the following new section: "PART 3 Information on Tax Exiles 52.---The Minister shall within one month from the passing of this Act prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the contribution made to the Exchequer and in particular the contribution in that regard as a result of the measures introduced by the Finance...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: Not any more.

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: It would need to be a cottage orné like in the constituency of the Minister of State.

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: I think I created that name.

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: May I reply briefly?

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: The Minister of State said it all there. I wish him the best of good fortune in returning to the House but, obviously, that will come down to the voters of south Tipperary. The Labour Party has an excellent candidate there in my Seanad colleague, Senator Phil Prendergast, who I hope will also be returned to this House.

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: She is not a Cinderella, rather she comes from a background of having been a very experienced professional midwife. It she is elected to this House, it will be a first for this House to have a Member who was a professional midwife of long standing and who would have such experience of the health services. The Minister of State said it all in one, namely, that if the first contributions from...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: Such people cannot simply avoid making their fair contribution. If reform in this area is to be introduced by the next Government, it will be difficult because these are very powerful people, with vested interests and they employ the best lawyers in the world. We have to get everyone in this country contributing at an effective rate. That is the only way we will keep taxes low and...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: Yes.

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: I concur with much of what Deputy Barrett has said. Almost 30,000 people are employed on a full-time or part-time basis in various sectors of the horse and greyhound industry. I regret the complete shambles made of the arrangements over the past 13 years by Fianna Fáil and its various Government partners. We saw a parade of different vested interests all looking for an angle, all...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: On the air travel tax, I welcome the Government's decision to reduce the air travel tax to €3. At a time of great economic crisis and high unemployment Governments must be careful about the taxes they introduce. Unfortunately, the air travel tax was exactly the type of tax we did not need at an extraordinarily sensitive time for the tourism industry. While the reduction is welcome, the...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: Yes. Was that in Limerick?

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: On a point of order-----

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: On a point of order, an amendment of mine has been accepted by the Ceann Comhairle in respect of the publication of bankers' bonuses. My other amendments were not accepted and I ask Deputy Doherty to allow me a moment to point out that amendment No. 4 reads: In page 7, before section 1, to insert the following new section: "PART 1 PUBLICATION OF CERTAIN BONUSES 1.—Each credit institution...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Joan Burton: On a point of order, the Minister of State undertook to explain to us what the amendments would be. Will he at least outline, for the information of the House, the heading of the section to which he is referring? Does it pertain to bankers' bonuses being taxed at 90%, which we were promised? Will the Minister of State clarify what the amendment will be about?