Results 42,881-42,900 of 46,267 for speaker:Simon Harris

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: I do not wish to have a debate on reform and everything else because we have to get through the Finance Bill by 2 p.m. I could provide statistics until the cows came home. I was responding to the substance and principle of the recommendation. The Senator wants the House to legislate within the Finance Bill for the preparation of a report and it is my responsibility to respond to her...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: A one percentage point decrease in income tax rates-----

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: At the 41% rate, the cost would be €164 million in 2015 and €234 million in a full year. An increase of €1,000 in the standard rate band would cost €160 million in the first year and €21 million in a full year. I am more than happy to provide the House with information that it is possible to give. I am not in disagreement with the Senator. I disagree...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: I would be delighted to do that because while I agree with much of the Senator's analysis of the economic situation, I do not agree that we should be legislating in the Finance Bill to put in a series of reports. I want to be supportive of many of the points the Senator is raising, and I will be in a moment, but in terms of the reason I am not accepting the amendment, and I have taken this...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: I thank Senator Darragh O'Brien for moving this recommendation because it gives me an opportunity to respond to the situation relating to the home carer's tax credit. The system of individualisation has been in the tax code since 1999 and is obviously an integral part of the overall system. When first announced, the stated purpose of individualisation was essentially to ease the burden on...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: As I was saying, in tandem with individualisation, a home carer allowance was introduced to compensate couples where one spouse stays at home to care for children or other qualifying individuals. Individualisation was progressed to some extent in later years but was never completed. The result is that we now have a hybrid system with the standard rate band being partially transferable...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: The discussion we had on this on Committee Stage was highly technical, but it was important to put that detail on the record of the House. Senators’ concerns about this aspect of private pension provision will be brought to the Minister’s attention directly. In yesterday's debate, I explained the background and rationale for the differential treatment of employer contributions...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Office of Public Works Expenditure (11 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: The Government decided on 11 February 2014 to allocate up to €69.5 million for repair and remediation of public infrastructure that was damaged by severe weather in the period 13 December 2013 to 6 January 2014. Of the figure of €69.5 million, up to €19.6 million was allocated for repair by local authorities of existing built coastal protection and flood defences in...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: I thank Senator Kathryn Reilly for tabling this recommendation and for the opportunity it has provided to have an interesting discussion about this matter. Senator Paul Bradford is correct that it is an issue in which I have a personal interest. I will take up the challenge to discuss it with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, and engage on it with some disability groups. The...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: It depends on the age of the car because there may not be a vehicle registration tax liability. The new owner can benefit from the range of supports outlined. The primary medical certificate is always required to avail of the scheme. Either the Minister for Finance or I will report back to the House on the conclusion of the review of authorised sellers.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: The taxation of property through an annual recurring tax is less economically distortionary than the imposition of tax on either income or capital. This is supported by economic literature, as well as by OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, analyses which underscore how an annual tax on land and buildings has a relatively small adverse impact on economic performance....

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: I understand the purpose of this recommendation is to deal with concerns that an individual who inherits agricultural property while living abroad and who wants to actively farm that property will not qualify for capital acquisitions tax agricultural relief, because he or she may not be able to return home for some time in order to do so. The relief is designed to encourage active farmers to...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: It is for a second home.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: The Revenue Commissioners said that.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: I have made most of the points that I sought to make at this stage. I get the impression that people are genuinely trying to create a picture in which some people are sitting at home while their parents are providing them with bed, board, maintenance and support with education. The Revenue Commissioners have made the point; it is not a question of my saying it. Representatives from the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: I feel equally passionate about this as do some Senators but on the other side of the argument. I believe this is an issue that has got a lot of legs in the media and from companies like the one referenced in this House, although I am not sure how many low and middle income families are seeking advice on their taxes each year. I do not say that snidely but I believe there is an indication...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: I thank the Senator. The section inserts a new section, section 108(C), into the VAT Consolidation Act 2010 which, as she correctly said, deals with joint and several liability for tax. The new power and section are an anti-fraud mechanism. They will allow the Revenue Commissioners to hold a person jointly and severally liable for VAT which has not been remitted to it where the person...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: It is possible to assign joint and several liability for the unpaid tax to more than one accountable person where they are participants in a chain of transactions involving the same supplies. In layman's terms, if one is engaging in an activity of supplying a good one knows will be used as part of a fraudulent process, Revenue can try to hold one liable. If one is going about one's business...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: With the discretion of the Chair, I will outline the section. If there are any outstanding issues, I will endeavour to address them. In consultation with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Minister for Finance is providing relief from stamp duty in respect of certain long leases of farm land. It is one of the recommendations of the agri taxation review intended to...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Dec 2014)

Simon Harris: It is important that the Senator asked me to clarify the position, because it was the subject of an extensive Dáil Committee Stage debate and the Minister made further amendments which I should have outlined. The issue of an active farmer arose in regard to a number of sections, and therefore on Committee Stage the Minister clarified to whom the relief would be available. The relief,...