Results 3,461-3,480 of 32,432 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I acknowledge that, for properties that are regarded as derelict because they are not subject to the vacant property tax, the question stands as to what can be done to activate them for residential use. However, that is now a matter that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is aiming to bring to a conclusion. The reason the Revenue Commissioners are not notified is that...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: So we will be all clear on what “habitable” is, “habitable” is a property that is fit for dwelling. I am not trying to be at all smart with the Deputy for a moment, but “uninhabitable” then, as Revenue would define it, is a house that is not fit for dwelling. My officials will tell me as the debate goes on if there is further rigor that lies behind...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to say one more thing on it. There are clearly properties that are not fit for dwelling but may also not be derelict. This is clearly an issue that needs further work. As they are not fit for dwelling, they are not a home, and because they are not a home, they do not come under the vacant property tax. Therefore, one of the issues we need to consider is the definition of...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I am not aware that there is much evidence. Perhaps the Deputy might have-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: -----knowledge of it. If I look at the operation of the local property tax at the moment, there is not much evidence of properties being made uninhabitable to avoid the tax. I hope I am not being naïve in assuming the same practice will continue in relation to the vacant property tax. I would argue, but it will be a matter for Revenue, that if a front door is removed from a house, it...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I will deal first with the refurbishment issue Deputy Boyd Barrett has referred to. It is an issue I gave considerable thought to in designing the Bill. For that reason, a clear definition of "substantial repairs" is contained within the new vacant property tax. As the Deputy said, if substantial repairs or a substantial refurbishment is carried out in a chargeable period, an exemption...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: In theory, what the Deputy is saying is correct. The gain somebody might get from the increased value of the home, from a capital point of view, might be bigger than the vacant property tax they will pay. For a levy or tax like this to be equivalent to the capital gain a property may experience, there would have to be a huge increase in the vacant homes tax rate. The Deputy may indeed want...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I emphasise to the committee that I will keep this under review. I believe this tax will make a difference. Its operation will be continually reviewed by me and the Revenue Commissioners.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: It is 1 January 2024.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputies for their questions. I am struck by a contradiction I feel is there. On the one hand, both Sinn Féin and People Before Profit are against the local property tax, LPT, because they believe the level of the LPT is unaffordable for many people. Yet, when I bring forward a measure that triples a tax they feel is currently unaffordable, then it is not high enough. If...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Deputy clarified in his question, there is a minimum amount. This minimum amount is €270, which is three times €90. I believe this is an effective minimum level for the tax.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: We have not yet set the reduction of vacancy over a multi-year period. The Department and I will turn our minds to this as we evaluate the performance of the tax. I will look at the reduction of vacancy we have seen with the implementation of the vacant property tax in other jurisdictions. I will see what reduction has happened there. We can compare that with the reduction in vacancy I...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I have just outlined to the Deputy two different methodologies by which it can be measured.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I have just outlined what they are and how it can be done. Have we set a target for it yet? No, we have not, but we will be able to do that work shortly after the Finance Bill. We will then review progress on those targets as part of the normal evaluation we do on tax policy.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I would expect and want the level of vacancy to decrease by more than 10%.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Given that I have just said that I would want the level of vacancy to decrease by more than 10%, if it has not the scheme should be reviewed at that point. Have I set targets for what the reductions should be over a multi-year period? No, not yet.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Business of Select Committee (16 Nov 2022)

Paschal Donohoe: I have some time left to complete the Finance Bill. Given that its implementation will take place across next year, I will do so if I am still the Minister for Finance and if I am not, I hope the next person will.