Results 3,201-3,220 of 35,540 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I ask the Minister to confirm to the committee that the reporting requirements under this section involve digital platform operators that facilitate the sale of goods or services but will not apply to those that list the sale of services but are not involved in the transactions themselves, such as the likes of Facebook and others.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Are those reporting obligations only for digital platform operators that are involved in the sale of services, as opposed to platforms that list services for sale?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: So the likes of Facebook would not come under that. Is that correct, given that it is others that are selling on that platform?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Airbnb would be covered but Facebook would not BE because it is not involved in the sale of goods and so on.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The increase in the vacant homes tax from three to five times the rate is welcome. When debating last year's Finance Bill, we spelled out to the Minister's predecessor that the rate was too low. It so it is good that it is being increased. The second aspect is that it needs to be further increased if people still do not take action . The idea is to release properties into the market...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I am glad the Minister has considered an increase in the tax in accordance with the length of time the property is vacant. The fact the rate has increased before the returns were even due is an acknowledgement that last year's decision was a mistake. That is just the reality of it. It was not a case of let us see how this is working in operation because it is not in operation. Tuesday was...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 40: In page 114, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: “Report on the Vacant Homes Tax 87.The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the vacant homes tax, including an assessment of options to include derelict properties within its scope, and to increase the amount...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I am a bit concerned about this section. I support the scheme in terms of having heritage items being made available to our national libraries, museums and art galleries. However,, this would be a big advantage to what in many cases are high net wealth individuals if they were to provide a piece of art that is worth, for example, €8 million. Its market value may be worth €8...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Yes, but some items could result in quite a high credit if they were to be of significant value. What is driving this change? Are we in a position where we have maxed out and have hit the €6 million threshold, there have been offers of donations, those offers have been deemed to be of heritage value to the State, and they could not be followed up on because we have maxed out?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Has there been any publication of the list of items that are donated where the tax credit has been availed of?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Each year?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Very good.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I am still not convinced that anything is substantively changing here. All I am convinced of is that the can is being kicked down the road. The vast majority applications from farmers to their local authorities to have their lands de-zoned because they are actively farming on them have been rejected. What will change? Is the letter from the Minister for Housing, Local Government and...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I go back to the point that a whole year has passed and there are no amendments. All we are doing is putting this off for a year, which is an issue. For the farmer who is actively farming his or her land and has gone to the local authority and asked for it to be de-zoned, has been rejected and has possibly even gone to An Bord Pleanála then and has been rejected, what will change for...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 42: In page 119, line 31, to delete "amended-" down to and including line 39, to delete pages 120 to 125, and to delete lines 1 to 11 in page 126, and substitute "repealed.". This amendment is to repeal the concrete products levy. This levy was introduced by the Minister's predecessor. The argument was that it was to offset the costs relating to defective concrete...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I welcome the latter point. That is the point that I was going to bring up here. It is an issue that I raised with the Minister's officials during the briefing, namely, that under the current drafting, it does not allow for the on-sale of precast concrete products, and the tax will fall on them. I gave the example of garden kerbs. They will be exempt from the levy if they are manufactured...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I fundamentally disagree with what the Minister has said. I can understand that this is his logic but the State makes commitments to invest in capital infrastructure on numerous occasions and we do not point to a funding stream. If we decide to build a metro, how much will it cost? It will cost billions. Are we going to introduce a levy on everybody who uses a train? It does not make...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I will push this to a vote.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I wish to press my amendment.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I move amendment No. 44: In page 126, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “Report on the impact of the Defective Concrete Products Levy on the cost, viability and affordability of construction and housing projects 90.The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the Defective Concrete...