Results 43,241-43,260 of 46,456 for speaker:Simon Harris
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: Deputy Doherty wants to talk about what we have currently but the amendment is important.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: By bringing in the single-storey, it changes the reality.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: No, that is not required. The space above must be available to be lived in but does not have to be refurbished by the person locating the commercial activity within the building. People cannot move in and put commercial activities upstairs.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: But not necessarily by the same person.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: Yes, but not necessarily by the same person. Someone could operate commercially in the basement and someone must live in the upper floors. We are moving to a different scenario now.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: Yes.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: Yes but it could have different people involved.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: Yes. The Deputy is correct and I have tried to explain the rationale behind it. I will give it another go. The rationale is twofold, the first point being that we are no longer dealing with houses that have a basement. We did not want to have a commercial operation going into an entire Georgian building, where potential living quarters in a Georgian house or relevant house could end up...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: There is a residential element to the legislation. I do not accept that there is a dilution of the residential element. Section 372AAC has always allowed people to get relief on commercial premises. Subsection 3 addressed the specific situation where the commercial property was in the basement of a pre-1915 building with two storeys over the basement. It is an evolving scheme and...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: To clarify that point, there are two elements to the legislation, the residential and commercial. The commercial element refers to section 372AAC and always allowed people to get relief on any commercial premises. Subsection 3, which we are deleting, addressed a particular situation where the commercial property was in the basement of a pre-1915 building with two stories over the basement....
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: Yes.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: That is correct. At the time, the logic was that we were talking about Georgian houses. We were trying to ensure that if works were being carried out, there would be a residential living element to each of the Georgian houses. Obviously, we have broadened that now to all pre-1915 dwellings and therefore we do not see the same necessity.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: That is the case, but I would argue that the €200,000 tax relief limit on the commercial side that we have put in place will help with achieving EU state aid approval. It also makes it more restrictive in terms of commercial development than it was previously.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: It is an important point.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: I think our wires are slightly crossed here. As I stated earlier, there has always been a commercial element. There were previously under this scheme commercial elements, which, as I outlined, complement but are separate to the residential.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: No. To clarify, the commercial-residential synergy was required only in the Georgian houses, not in the other buildings.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: I am trying to get the exact reference.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: No. I am saying that the obligation on a premises being renovated for commercial purposes to also include the living area related to the Georgian properties. The scheme is now being extended beyond Georgian properties.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: It could be either.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)
Simon Harris: It can be either-or. There is a specific provision in relation to Georgian houses.