Results 3,601-3,620 of 32,547 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

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

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, up to €3 million to €4 million.

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

Paschal Donohoe: I ask the Deputy to bear with me. The information is available.

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

Paschal Donohoe: We estimate that around 15% of the total properties that are vacant will be liable for this tax. We estimate on the basis of the survey that we have done that the total number of vacant properties is 57,000. Of those properties, we estimate that 15% will be liable to the tax. That is approximately 6,000 to 7,000 properties.

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

Paschal Donohoe: We expect that up to 6,000 or 7,000 will be paying this. As the Deputy knows, there is a difference between census information and information on vacancy from local property tax, LPT, returns. The reason for that is that the CSO used different methodologies and a different definition of vacancy when conducting its census.

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

Paschal Donohoe: That is a fair concern but I am confident in the power of the Revenue Commissioners to deal with any hesitancy in declaring whether tax is due on a property.

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

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, 6,200 properties.

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

Paschal Donohoe: If the tax is not paid, it is because of the different criteria we have laid out. We believe there are acceptable and legitimate reasons for a property to lie vacant. The exemptions apply where the owner-occupier of a property has recently died, where the property is actively being marketed for sale or rent, where the occupation or sale of a property is restricted by court order, where the...

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

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, it did. We asked in our survey. We should bear in mind that we are talking about a local property tax that already has a very high rate of compliance. There is a 93% compliance rate from a return point of view and a 97% compliance rate in respect of payment. I understand the point the Deputy is making that there could be reasons people might declare their properties not subject to...

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

Paschal Donohoe: If a property is not occupied in the way we suggest, it will fit and the vacant property tax will have to be paid.

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

Paschal Donohoe: With regard to holiday homes, the vacant homes tax aims to address vacancy by imposing a tax on habitable residential properties that are not in use. For the purposes of the tax, it is irrelevant whether a property is considered to be a holiday home. If a holiday home is in use as a dwelling for a period of 30 days over the course of a year, there will be no liability to the vacant homes...

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

Paschal Donohoe: The phrase "in use as a dwelling" is not defined in the legislation so I will address its ordinary meaning. It will simply mean that, on a given day, with each day comprising the 24-hour period ending at midnight, a person uses the property as his or her home or main residence. Such use does not need to be on a permanent basis. This would mean that a person attends to matters such as meal...

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

Paschal Donohoe: In addition to interest charged at 8% if a chargeable person pays VHT late and a late filing surcharge of either 5% or 10%, depending on how late the filing is, the legislation also provides for the application of penalties for failures to file returns or for filing incorrect returns. A penalty of €3,000 or €5,000 would be levied, depending on the circumstances of the case....

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

Paschal Donohoe: If Revenue requests information from a property owner and that property owner does not supply it, a penalty of €100 per day will be levied, up to a maximum of €3,000.

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

Paschal Donohoe: Sorry. Would the Deputy be good enough to repeat his question to me? I got distracted there. Pardon.

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

Paschal Donohoe: We will get an answer to that question for the Deputy. I do not think we have it at the moment. I have just been asked to clarify an answer I gave the Deputy a moment ago. The €100 I referred to refers to a relevant person, and the definition of a relevant person is set out in the local property tax legislation. I just wanted to make that clear. As for the Deputy's information...

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

Paschal Donohoe: As I said, we will have to get that information for the Deputy. I cannot answer the question off the top of my head.

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

Paschal Donohoe: I came up with the 8% on the advice of my officials as to what would be an appropriate interest charge to have for the late filing of a vacant homes tax return.

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

Paschal Donohoe: I am happy to come back to the Deputy with a comparison of that charge. I will get that information for him. I go back, however, to the answer I gave a few moments ago. Looking at the total number of homes that were surveyed in the self-assessed vacant property tax project we did, there are many legitimate reasons a home could be vacant, reasons for which I believe it is appropriate not to...

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

Paschal Donohoe: If they are liable to pay local property tax, they will have to pay the vacant property tax. A homeowner here in Ireland will be liable to this tax.

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

Paschal Donohoe: Revenue is able to do that with the application of the local property tax. If any agency is capable of ensuring that somebody living in Boston who is liable to pay this tax does so, it is Revenue. I am absolutely confident in its ability to have the reach needed to collect tax from people who should pay this tax but who might not live in Ireland.